Francois Kollar (1904-1979), “The Pears”, 1930

#somereallygoodones #francoiskollar, #stillife, #pears, #susanbright,, #karenhaas

There are iconic still-life images by Paul Outerbridge, Eduard Steichen and others gorgeously observered, distilling perfect form and matter. The Kollar pears aren’t perfect: the skin is rough and blemished; the shape is a little lumpy. That said, the printing is absolutely sublime, and the fruit is wonderfully seen, sweetly proportioned with a gorgeous surface — a stunner. Karen Haas, curator from Boston’s MFA, describes it as “Platonic”, meaning “ideal” this writer supposes.

The scene is not archetypically or achingly beautiful, but rather, it feels real. It is well lit and so good looking it defies any need to be flawless. It has immediacy and doesn’t look like it came from a nineteen thirties fruit catalogue, if those existed. The pears are resting on some unknown surface with what looks like dappled sunlight coming through trees. The ripeness and fullness of the fruit gives them a somewhat uncanny presence as if the pears belonged to some mythic story about goddesses and beauty. Indeed it would seem to be a gift from them.

One of the goddesses of photography is writer-curator Susan Bright, whom I always describe as well named. She is a lover of life, and we make each other laugh. She is a very thorough looker at photography Two of her big projects have been “Home Truths: Photography and Motherhood” (2013) and “Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography” (2017).

I believe that she would like these pears.

#somereallygoodones, #theunseeneye, #wmhunt, #collectiondancingbear, #collectionblindpirate, #greatphotographs, #howilookatphotographs, #photographsfromtheunconsicous, #collectingislikerunningaroundinathunderstormhopingyoullbehitbylightning, #aphotographsogooditmakesyoufartlightning, #photographychangeditlifeitgavemeone, #francoiskollar, #pears, #susanbright,, #karenhaas, #stilllife