Bob Kolbrener and Ansel Adams—90 Years in the American West at Fay Gold Gallery

Bob Kolbrener, Rock Covers Paper #9, 1999.

Bob Kolbrener’s photographs make no attempt to stray from his mentor Ansel Adam’s cherished Western United States landscapes. The two share a regional heritage and an affinity for dramatic black-and-white prints. The works in “90 Years in the American West,” currently on view at Fay Gold Gallery, complement each other in an awe-inspiring vision of the American landscape that, in a way, recalls the designs of Manifest Destiny and 19th century expansionism. The quality of the printing and meticulous detail of each photograph, though, help the exhibit avoid feelings of hokey patriotrism. Because of their careful execution, every photograph is absolutely exquisite.

Ansel Adams, Water and Foam

Ansel Adams’ Water and Foam captures rings of foam on water in such a close frame that the organic lines begin to resemble  other natural patterns. The intimate size of the photograph allows the image to serve as a detail as opposed to an entire scene. The photograph could just as easily be a close up of the tree rings in one of Kolbrener’s forest tableaus, as they could represent a temporal moment in the sea.

Kolbrener takes a different approach to detail in his photograph, Sierra Wave Cloud. This is one of Kolbrener’s larger photographs in the show, depicting a wide and dark sky with a landscape of trees and snow below. Each tree is detailed to the degree of meriting a photograph of its own. Here, Kolbrener provides a full composition as a reply to Adam’s detail, in a much more dramatic approach. The unending sky reminds me of Caspar David Friedrich’s, Monk by the Sea. In the same way that Friedrich creates a spatial contrast between the immediate foreground and the intangible beyond, Kolbrener too emphasizes the hugeness of the unknown compared to the material landscape.

Bob Kolbrener, Sierra Wave Cloud, 1981.

Both Adams and Kolbrener’s work are extremely cinematic in their presentation and composition. The sprawling landscapes of each with deep, black backdrops and cloudless open skies capture the dramatic nature of the American west. Perhaps I was jaded about Adams’ work before seeing the show, but after looking at Adams’ prints of Devils Cragg and Bishop Post, I couldn’t help but expect to see John Wayne preparing to emerge from the cliffs to go off and save the American Dream. I have to think this type of scene had some affect on the likes of John Ford and Howard Hawks.

Bob Kolbrener, Mirror Lake, 1968.

Kolbrener’s piece titled Portrait of Half Dome is an interesting take on a fairly typical landscape photograph. By identifying the piece as a portrait (a term generally reserves for depictions of humans) the landscape becomes personified, taking on added depth. The fog around the mountain becomes an indicator of the brooding mood of the dome, while the black sky and shadow cast over more than half of the composition seem to be ominous predictions for the image’s Half Dome protagonist.

Bob Kolbrener, Portrait of Half Dome, 2006.

Each piece in the show is stunning and certainly shows an unquestionable mastery of the trade. The flawless execution of the works are reason alone to go and see the exhibit. But, if you are in it for a little more intellectual meat, the historical aspect of the show provides an interesting perspective to American ideals past.

“90 Years in the American West” will remain on view at Fay Gold Gallery through Sat. Feb. 7.

Tags: Ansel Adams, Bob Kolbrener, Fay Gold Gallery