Description
Price: $16.00 - $14.81
(as of Mar 28, 2025 11:16:52 UTC – Details)
A collection of inspiring essays by the photographer Robert Adams, who advocates the meaningfulness of art in a disillusioned society
In Art Can Help, the internationally acclaimed American photographer Robert Adams offers over two dozen meditations on the purpose of art and the responsibility of the artist. In particular, Adams advocates art that evokes beauty without irony or sentimentality, art that “encourages us to gratitude and engagement, and is of both personal and civic consequence.” Following an introduction, the book begins with two short essays on the works of the American painter Edward Hopper, an artist venerated by Adams. The rest of this compilation contains texts—more than half of which have never before been published—that contemplate one or two works by an individual artist. The pictures discussed are by noted photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Emmet Gowin, Dorothea Lange, Abelardo Morell, Edward Ranney, Judith Joy Ross, John Szarkowski, and Garry Winogrand. Several essays summon the words of literary figures, including Virginia Woolf and Czeslaw Milosz. Adams’s voice is at once intimate and accessible, and is imbued with the accumulated wisdom of a long career devoted to making and viewing art. This eloquent and moving book champions art that fights against disillusionment and despair.
Distributed for the Yale University Art Gallery
Publisher : Yale University Press (August 24, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 92 pages
ISBN-10 : 0300260245
ISBN-13 : 978-0300260243
Item Weight : 8 ounces
Dimensions : 5.51 x 0.39 x 8.19 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book’s writing insightful and thoughtful. They appreciate the beautiful, well-illustrated images that invoke awe, wonder, and inspiration about art. The book is described as a nice quality small book worth reading and returning to.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Jeff K –
Art in not just anything
There are two writers that everyone serious about their photography should be familiar with: John Szarkowski and Robert Adams. Bob is an extraordinary photographer with incredible insight into the medium, both as an art form and its place in society. His writing is very accessible while also thought provoking. This book pairs photographs (by someone you are probably not familiar with) with a very short essay. I suggest going slowly, perhaps one photo/essay per day, to give yourself time to think about it. As Bob says on page 87, âArt is not just anything.â
Peter Brown –
A true pleasure.
Such a beautiful, welcoming and wise book. You move through it slowly – looking, reading, thinking… You come to the end, sad that it is done… But you may find yourself starting over â this time working through it even more slowly. There is remarkably innovative thought presented throughout, and there are many carefully chosen, beautiful images to take in. A true pleasure.
Michael Kennedy –
Solid observations
I’ve like his photography for many years. I think some of his comments are a bit of a stretch, but on the whole this is good clear writing.
David S. Ditzel –
Enjoyable Read
Robert Adams is as good of a writer as he is photographer. This is a nice quality small book with great photographs and writings to ponder. Each photo has a page or two of Adams writings about the photograph or photographer that took the photo. This book enjoyable to read when I don’t have time to get involved in a book.
Generic Industries –
Clear-Eyed Adams
We are lucky to see another book of essays from the great writer and photographer Robert Adams. Here, he presents a series of previously uncollected pieces on artists, photographers and individual photographs and paintings. If you’ve enjoyed Beauty in Photography and Why People Photograph you will appreciate more clear-eyed writing and observations here.Something I hope for, but am doubtful we’ll see, is a new sustained essay on the working conditions of photographers or a detailed piece on Adams’s view of the world (like the title essay in Beauty in Photography or The Twentieth Century in the West from Why People Photograph). Such an essay is absent here, the pieces are quite brief yet powerful and insightful.
Amazon Customer –
Thank you!
Itâs great to get exactly what you ordered in a used book! The description was accurate and the book came earlier than expected. It was all wrapped nicely in brown paper with a note. Thanks Vintage Book Shoppe!
Stuart Murdoch –
Mr Adams does it again!
As a self-confessed Robert Adams-ophile, this is yet another shining example of Mr. Adams’ ability to invoke awe, wonder and inspiration about all kinds of Pictures. Easily digestible in a short afternoon read, yet worth of many return visits this is up there with my other favourites of his.
Amazon Customer –
Robert Adams is always worth a read
I enjoyed his other two books, so buying this one was a no-brainer.