Minor White

Minor White
1908–1976
USA
Practice: Photography
Movement/Style: Contemporary art, Photography

Although many consider White to be an abstract photographer, the environmentalist and Buddhist was primarily a landscape photographer. White blurred the lines of reality while combining his emotional and spiritual connections with nature and environment with his unique vision and approach in his work. Thought-provoking with vast scope for interpretation, I am attracted to the beauty, serenity and textures of White’s exposures and the courage and conviction of the artist as he pushes against boundaries in his expression and image-making. Relationship to practice is in White’s persistence to push boundaries and think outside the box in the narrative of his work. Bold and hauntingly beautiful with seemingly endless possibilities for interpretation, White is fearless and unapologetic in the images he makes.

Minor White, Nature Abstract, 1963

Quotes

If all your life means to you is water running over rocks, then photograph it, but I want to create something that would not have existed without me. — Minor White (Graf, M 2016)

Relevance to practice

Large format, Abstraction, Black and white, Contemporary, Texture, Tone, Composition

Keywords

Minor White, Contemporary art, Photography, Texture, Tone, Abstraction, Alternative view, Composition, Film, Analogue, Black and white, Community of practice

References

Artnet n.d., Minor White, viewed 11 May 2020, <http://www.artnet.com/artists/minor-white/>

Graf, M 2016, ‘Art from the Moment’, Notes from the Woods, blog post, 20 March, viewed 2 June 2020, <https://www.grafphoto.com/2016/03/20/art-from-the-moment/>

White, M 1963, Nature Abstract, photograph, viewed 2 June 2020, <https://collections.artsmia.org/art/115964/nature-abstract-minor-white>