Flora photographica

Library Journal

For the photography aficionado and the true lover of forms, this retrospective is testimony to the medium's ability to capture radiant energy. The author deftly scans the various stations held by the flower throughout its captured life on film. From its starring role as solitary subject to its ancillary position as accent or accoutrement, the flower has been an irrefutable part of artistic expression. Indeed, cubism, constructivism, dadaism, and surrealism have a place in the pages of this historical account. Photographic greats including Edward Steichen, Imogen Cunningham, Mark Anthony, and Edward Weston grace the pages of this volume, and various treatments of floral symbolism are considered. Words such as purity and innocence, formality and flamboyance are used in the introduction to describe how the flower has been interpreted throughout the decades. To turn from page to page is to be invited inside the creations and imagination of artisans whose work will live on. Recommended for most collections.--Marigrace Ma selli, New York