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Courtesy of NUMU In addition to exploring visual 45 atmospherics—literally and SILICON ALLEYS figuratively unfamiliar to many

SILICON ALLEYS women of her time—Brigman held JULY 13-19, 2016 an active social life. After moving to the East Bay, she ran with everyone from to Dorothea Lange and Charles Keeler. She operated a teaching studio, delivered lectures

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and staged artist salons where metrosiliconvalley.com photographers, poets, painters and other aesthetes and raconteurs of the day all sat around, drank tea and traded ideas. It was precisely the type of cross-disciplinary, earth-centric bohemianism so desperately missing in today’s artist circles. Brigman was also a huge influence

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on the photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe

(1895-1989), who pioneered what came sanjose.com to be known as environmental fashion photography. Known primarily for her work in publications like Harper’s

, and , Dahl- Bazaar Vogue Vanity Fair |

Wolfe was the first to stage fashion metroactive.com model shoots outside the studio, setting up scenes in naturally lit locales, a revolutionary concept for the era. Dahl-Wolfe often cited Brigman as an inspiration and it was quite possibly a

visit to the latter’s studio that prompted Dahl-Wolfe to try photography in the first place. Dahl-Wolfe’s 1947 photo in Wild Bunch Harper’s Bazaar, “Revival of the Basque,” is even included in the exhibit. In her later years, Brigman began to MOUNTAIN WOMAN Anne Brigman explored feminine identity write poetry that seemed inseparable in work such as this 1912 photogravure, ‘Finis.’ from her images, resulting in an obscure book, Songs of a Pagan, published in connection to Los Gatos. In the show, 1949, a year before she died. If one can Anne Brigman and her artist circle we see Brigman’s photos along with track down a copy, the book juxtaposes contemporaries like Edward Weston her own words against the photographs, were pioneers a century ago and . Most of the all couched in pagan antiquity, with pieces came from private collectors. The titles like “Solstice,” “Pan,” and “The show testifies to Brigman’s creative spirit. Dryad.” That last one is included in the amid rugged landscapes along the “She was a trailblazer,” McGrath show at NUMU. Brigman dedicated BY GARY SINGH California coast or the says. “She loved to hike, and go up the book to several people, including Mountains, Brigman developed new into the mountains, and was really , who she said was a deep- ways of exploring feminine identity. She ORN NEAR an outdoorswoman in an era when hearted friend, a fierce but fair critic, and achieved early success as a Pictorialist, many women were not. It was the a “pillar of fire in the wilderness of the in 1869, Anne Brigman infiltrating the Camera Club of San turn of the century, and it wasn’t early days of pictorial photography, here photographed nude Francisco and the Photo-Secession really considered a ‘proper’ thing for in America and in England.” B women merging group, led by Alfred Stieglitz in New a woman to do, to put on pants and “She was proud to be herself,” with nature in mystical, York. Her photographs were poetic, go hiking into the mountains.” McGrath says. “She never compromised. atmospheric settings. In her pioneering and pagan. Even better, she Brigman was married for a time She was dedicated to her art and she images, women are not posing spent her teenage years in Los Gatos. but didn’t want to start a family. She was passionate about nature.” for the male gaze. Instead, their That last fact was enough for was devoted to her art and her career unaffected female forms tend Marianne McGrath to curate a small at a time when women weren’t exhibit in the Spotlight Gallery at supposed to do such things. IN THE HEART OF THE to fuse with trees, hillsides WILD: ANNE BRIGMAN New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU), “In that sense, she was an early JULY and cliffs in dramatic fashion, AND HER CIRCLE In the Heart of the Wild: Anne Brigman feminist,” McGrath says. “She was almost representing archetypes and her Circle, opening July 15. The a very unique individual and very 15 New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU) rather than humans. Spotlight Gallery focuses on history, interesting to share with the rest of http://www.numulosgatos.org By focusing on the female body ideas and interesting characters with a the Los Gatos community.”