Robert Adams: Around the House (FRAENKEL GALLER)

As a long time admirer of Robert Adams's work, I brought certain expectations to this book. For me, his work signifies full awareness of how humans interact with their environment, and by extension, how that interaction affects the environment. His work is often lyrical, subtle, and also quite powerful, an altogether unique vision that always has an important (environmentally speaking) story to tell. I remember being brought to tears at "The Place We Live," a career survey, a few years back at LACMA.Against that backdrop, this book was a disappointment to me. The cover photograph is enigmatic. The house sits under brilliant light in the near distance, looks as if it popped out of the dark shadowy foreground, and beckons the viewer. But the vantage point suggests we have to do a bit of maneuvering to reach the walkway. I like the challenge of this. We enter the book with anticipation and find that it is a highly stylized presentation of a pretty house and studio spaces. The images are gorgeous, sumptuous, stunningly beautiful. The problem is, most of them (particularly the interiors) feel as if they were produced for the NYT Style Magazine or Architectural Digest or a similar publication. For example, It is exciting to a long time fan and follower to see this master's darkroom, but the images show a darkroom that is so orderly, so pristine, that there is no obvious hint of a presence of Adams.My favorite photograph by far is a sideways portrait of his wife standing at the kitchen sink, wearing an apron, looking out the window (though the window is not visible), perhaps a momentary break from washing the dishes after a meal. A cutting board, some plates with food clutter the counter, some cabinets and the dishwasher door are ajar; this is a kitchen that's humming with life. And the photograph, with its richly honest content, a touching slice of life in this particular space in the house, conjures up multiple story lines and makes an instant connection.I recently came across an interview Robert Adams gave to the Modern Art Notes Podcast about this book. I hoped to gain some insight into his creative process regarding this project. He has an interesting discussion regarding the cloud images in the book (most are magnificent, but I thought there were too many of them). He mentions the Hudson River School poster that we see in one of the images and its meaning to him (which is illuminating to know), but then he also says this is an area where he does his matting, packing, etc.; I can't help but wish that some "signs" of these activities were included in the photograph. At one point, referring to a still life that appears in three versions, he mentions the designer vase by name (Aalto Vase), perhaps signaling the importance of style (to him) that is reflected in the images.This is not a project that will reveal the essence of his work, if you are not familiar with it already. What is the meaning of this house to him? He talks about this a bit in the podcast but the feeling doesn't come through in these images. What is the role of the house in his daily life? How does he interact with this space? The questions remain. In fact, given his oeuvre, this work is a disappointment. And it hurts me to say that.

Wonderful meditation on the place Mr. Adams calls home.

Interesting point of view.

“Around the house” is a book of photographs that delivers exactly what the title promises: pictures from around the house. All is clean and calm and ordered, and beauty is found everywhere. The book feels full of gratitude, love, and light.This may not be the right place to start an appreciation of Robert Adams—“The New West” and “Listening to the River” would be better for a new viewer to his work. But long term readers of his work recognize the “to make it home” theme—and here it is. Home.

At first run through, your initial thought might be "Why did he make a book like this?" But once you clear you head of expectations, and you really look at the images, you can start to see yourself right there with Robert in his surroundings. Overall, a relaxing and thoughtful collection by one of the masters. Like Eggleston, I can see how some might not appreciate these at first glance, but photography is more about seeing and feeling than meeting expectations.