Getty Museum presents ‘In Focus: The Tree’

William Henry Fox Talbot
British, 1800–1877
An Oak Tree in Winter, probably 1842–1843
Salted paper print from paper negative
Image: 19.4 x 16.6 cm (7 5/8 x 6 9/16 in.)
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
84.XM.893.1

Getty Museum presents ‘In Focus: The Tree’ The J. Paul Getty Museum presents In Focus: The Tree, a survey of importanttechnological and aesthetic developments in photographic representations of trees, on view atthe Getty Center from February 8 through July 3, 2011.]]>

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum
The latest in the In Focus series of thematic exhibitions, this presentation of nearly 40photographs provides visitors with an opportunity to explore the Getty Museum’s worldrenownedpermanent collection of photographs through the inspiring subject of trees

One of the earliest works in the exhibition is William Henry Fox Talbot’s iconic An OakTree in Winter (1842-1843), which captures the lace-like pattern of bare branches against astark winter sky.

Also included in the exhibition is Simryn Gill’s large-scale photograph Forest (1996-1998), which conceptually explores issues related to identity and a sense of belonging to aparticular place. Selecting books for their meaningful narrative or graphic type, Gilldeconstructs the literature, ripping up the pages to create organic forms that twist around treetrunks, playing with the idea of family trees, ancestral roots, and the essence of nature.

A daguerreotype by John Jabez Edwin Mayall from 1851 entitled The Crystal Palace atHyde Park, London, captures the site as it appeared when new, an impressive glass structurebuilt around existing Elm trees. Mayall’s image shows man’s progress in using modern materialssuch as glass and steel in an attempt to surpass nature and showcase science and industry.

On view for the first time since entering the Getty’s collection in 2009, South Koreanphotographer Myoung Ho Lee’s works, Tree #3 and Tree #11, document trees in the landscapesilhouetted against a large drop cloth, sometimes hung as high as 60 feet. The tree is shown instark relief, while still surrounded by its natural environment. The images simultaneously recallthe formal portrait studio and acknowledge the landscape tradition within art history.

Other selections from In Focus: The Tree include French photographer Gustave LeGray’s The Beach Tree (1856), Man Ray’s Redwoods at Big Sur (early 1940s), Eliot Porter’sJuniper Tree, Arches National Monument, Utah, August 27, 1958, and Josef Sudek’s TheWindow of My Studio (about 1950-1954).