Clyde Butcher

Butcher is best known for his black and white, large format landscapes of the Florida everglades and country surrounds. An environmentalist, the veteran photographer, raises awareness through his photographs of the natural environment which he loves.

In an interview with Steven Crandell (2014), Butcher talks about his relationship with the environment and how both nature and photography restored his soul after a drunk driver killed his teenage son. Butcher explains, "Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity. The mysterious spiritual experience of being close to natural restored my soul. My experience reinforced my dedication to use the art of photography as an inspiration for others to work together to save nature's places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations."

Clyde Butcher, LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1, 1991

Relevance to practice

Film photography, Large format, Black and white, Colour is overrated, Composition, Courage, Commitment

Keywords

Clyde Butcher, Drive, Vision, Self-promotion, Salvador Dali, Black and white, Large format, Landscape, Florida, Photography, Colour, B&H

References

Butcher, C 1991, LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1, photograph, viewed 20 June 2020, <https://clydebutcher.com/s/photographs/florida-collection/state-parks/jonathan-dickinson-state-park/loxahatchee-river-1-south-east-fl/>

Crandell, S 2011, ‘Extreme Exposure: Everglades — Clyde Butcher's Wilderness Intuition’, Huffington Post, viewed 8 August 2020, <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clyde-butcher_b_810107>

B&H Photography Podcast 2020, Clyde Butcher - Photographing the Everglades and Selling Clocks, podcast, B&H Photo Video, viewed 20 June 2020, <https://soundcloud.com/bh-photography-podcast/clyde-butcher-photographing-the-everglades-and-selling-clocks>

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>