In B+W 309, Sean Patrick Hill considers the enduring influence of Edward Weston’s radical images and why we can always return to his photography for inspiration.
Hill writes: ‘The legacy of some photographers is obvious – the continuing attempts at the dramatic landscapes and their debt to Ansel Adams is the obvious example. Weston’s proposition is more subtle: it is the idea that a singular object in the entirety of perception has significance above the rest of the scene. In this sense, straight photography accomplishes what we ourselves must achieve: unremitting focus. It’s for this reason that one can easily see – especially with the famous Pepper No. 30 – that the photographs are, essentially, staged.’
The Flame of Recognition, reissued in a 60th-anniversary paperback edition, is published by Aperture, price £30 (available via aperture.org with a 35% discount until 1 January 2026).
Edward Weston: The Matter of Forms, an exhibition of almost 200 pictures, is on show at the Sala Recoletos in Madrid until 18 January. An accompanying book is published in Spanish by Fundación MAPFRE.
Read Sean Patrick Hill’s full interview in B+W 309.