VICTORIAN SALON OF PHOTOGRAPHY
ELEVENTH INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 1936
SPECIAL REVIEW
by Mr. WILLIAM T. OWEN FRPS
1st May 1954 Page 288 - Vol. 61 No. 5 The Australasian Photographic Review
An Exhibition of International Camera Pictures, shown in the Melbourne Town Hall, by the Victorian Salon of Photography has fully justified its title by displaying some 338 prints and 77 color transparencies from 29 different countries of the world in addition to Australia.
The aim of the Exhibition was not to display photographs as such, but rather to exhibit those that showed merit of thought as well as practice and in which there was evidence of personal artistic feeling and execution. The task of the Selection Committee was not easy. It was not for them to please themselves, nor the intended visitor, but to present a well-balanced collection of high standard embracing every field of thought. They were ruthless in their rejection of prints that were little more than snapshots (of interest for their subject matter perhaps but of little artistic merit), of prints that were poor in photographic quality, and others that were examples of photographic technical perfection but little more. The result was a successful exhibition, noteworthy for its sanity with few of those modern excesses whereby some workers, who have little to say, seek notoriety at all costs. It was inevitable, if the exhibition was to be truly representative of all classes, that there should be a few abstractions that would puzzle the average visitor; but for the most part, these had been carefully chosen for qualities of tone or design rather than their bizarre nature.
There is a constant doubt in the popular mind as to whether the subject matter of a picture is of more importance than its technical expression or outward decorative aspect. There is no question as to the truth. The moment one thinks of the story the photographs tells, before the eye is gladdened by the beauty of its general appearance, it becomes a mere snapshot, a record, an illustration, but not an artistic picture. On the other hand, without subject matter you may have a noble pattern or a beautiful design. Nothing will lift a photograph above its fellows and make it command attention quicker than good or striking design. A fine example of this was “Blimp Man” by Harry L. Waddle ARPS, APSA, a strong pattern of lines radiating from a given spot with the figure of a man at its focal point. Another fine design of quite a different kind, was “The Lonely Boat” by Lucky Che ARPS. This was typically Chinese in its feeling and simplicity of tones. It should be borne in mind that pattern is not necessarily design; what really matters is that the pattern should be a good design. “Sun Pattern” by John P. Patmios, was technically fine and was certainly a mass of pattern but depicted little design.
Tonal value is another quality that will make or mar a photograph. It is, indeed, on this quality that feelings of mystery, mood and poetry really depend. Tonal value, more than anything, will lift a photograph above the banal and prosaic. A fine example of this was “Aguas Tranquilas” by Bernardino Cadete, which was most noteworthy for the beauty of its photographic quality, the rich tonal values shown in the white sails against a low-toned sky which was, nevertheless, luminous, all succeeded in conveying a feeling of great tranquility. “Snow-Park Avenue” by A. Aubrey Bodine FPSA, displayed quality in the lower range of tones. It was a night scene remarkable for its feeling of light in darkness and its differentiation of tones at the extreme lower limit of the tonal range. Moreover, it was greatly enhanced by its color, a dark green, which would not suit many prints.
At the other end of the scale “Winter” by Victor Skita, succeeded from its sheer simplicity; its masterly rendering of the texture of snow was something that could only be achieved by photography. Figures, when small and incidental, can often be used in landscape with great effect, either as a focal point of interest or to give scale to something large as in “Bryce” by Dr. Grant M. Haist.
When, however, the figure is large through being placed too near the camera, it is seldom successful as it steals the interest and the landscape tends to become merely the background. For this reason, “Montmartre” by A.G. Gray ARPS, was of great interest, as he admirably succeeded in overcoming this difficulty, although the intrusion of the second figure on the left somewhat marred the effect.
A whole panel of snow scenes could not fail to catch the eye. Here was photography at its best. Beauty of subject matter, excellently portrayed with all the wealth of detail and gradation of tone that would be the despair of an artist in any other medium. Outstanding among these were “Shadows” by Alfred Blyth ARPS, APSA, and “White Silence” by Mr. W.F. Small ARPS, APSA.
Two prints that owed their appeal as much to their subject matter as to their exceedingly clever photography were “Little Dog Lost” by Laurence Le Guay and “Splendour of the Morning” by N. Ozolins the latter having a wonderful feeling of vitality and zest for life.
Of recent years there has been a spate of prints of extreme contrast, a seeking after what has been labeled ‘impact’. While many of these may achieve --at end, they are often false in values and would be ---ing to live with. The Victorian Salon seemed to indicate that this phase is already on the wane and the many authors of these works are to be commended on fresher outlook and a better technical approach. The exhibition aroused a great deal of interest and should have proved an inspiration to the many keen photographers in Australia, who in many cases suffer from a pleasure of isolation which precludes them from seeing examples of the best work of today.