Monterey Museum of Art
Ansel Adams Exhibit
Elaine Schumacher, Staff Reporter
eschumacher@csumb.edu
School was not a good fit for him, so in 1916, he dropped out and went on a family trip to Yosemite. His parents gave him a gift of a Kodak Box Brownie camera so he could photograph their vacation. Nearly a century later, his 1927 photographs of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley may be the most recognized black and white photograph in the world. Ansel Adams, who lived in Carmel from 1967, until his death in 1984, is arguably the greatest photographer of the twentieth-century. Adam’s is considered a genius for his ability to control exposure and development of the photographs which creates the majestic images that are world renown today. On July 10, at the Museum of Art- La Mirada, (MMA), located at 720 Via Mirada, across from Lake Estero, in Monterey, will the launch of Ansel Adams: Portrait of America world- tour exhibit.
According to Mary De Goat, the Director of Communication at the MMA, in 1978 Adam’s began the selection of 72 of his most iconic images, which he intended to make available to museums and art institutions. When he died in 1984, only a few complete, “Museum Sets,” had been produced.
“Visitors will experience America through the eyes of this genius in one of Monterey’s most unique gallery settings-a historic mansion estate, the Monterey Museum of Art-La Mirada,” said Executive Director E. Michael Whittington. The museum is honored to have the Ansel Adams exhibit because the MMA-La Mirada is the only museum on the West Coast which will feature one of the completed, limited sets of photographs.
On July 30 from 6 to 9 p.m., the Monterey Contemporaries, a group of progressive, young professionals and students who are interested in art, cultural events, great music, food, beer and wine will host their quarterly party, La Mirada Loung. The event is open to young professionals and students, who are over 21 and share an interest in local art and culture events.
The MMA, located at 559 Pacific Street, is home to over 14,000 pieces of artwork in their permanent collection which includes the most extensive Asian art collection of the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. To place the MMA’s collection in perspective, the Whitney Museum of American Art, located in New York City has 15,000 pieces of artwork. “The goal of the Monterey Museum of Art is to be one of the most distinguished regional museums in the United States,” said E. Michael Whittington, Executive Director of the MMA.
For more information please visit www.montereyart.org or call 831-372-5477 x 110
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