Date: May 12, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GETTY PUBLICATIONS RELEASES FIRST MAJOR STUDY OF THE ART AND ALCHEMY OF EDMUND TESKE, ONE OF THE UNHERALDED MASTERS OF 20TH-CENTURY AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY
LOS ANGELES—A new publication, Spirit into Matter: The Photographs of Edmund Teske (Getty Publications; $70.00 hardcover; $40.00 paperback), is the first major survey of the life and artistic achievement of one of the unheralded alchemists of 20th- century American photography. The book is published to coincide with the first comprehensive retrospective of Teske’s work at the Getty Center, on view from June 15 to September 26, 2004. Spirit into Matter should become the standard monograph on Edmund Teske (1911–1996), whose bold experimental work influenced two generations of artists- photographers in the Los Angeles area. Author Julian Cox traces Teske’s long and varied career, from Chicago in the 1930s to Los Angeles, where the photographer took up residence in 1943. Cox investigates Teske’s early interactions with such influential figures as Frank Lloyd Wright and Paul Strand and his later associations with iconic figures such as filmmaker Kenneth Anger and musicians Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and the Doors. A transcript of a conversation with artist George Herms, who knew Teske for more than 30 years, offers further insight. In a career that spanned six decades, Edmund Teske created a diverse body of work that explored the expressive and emotional potentials of the medium. His drive
-more- Page 2 to experiment with sophisticated techniques, such as solarization and composite printing, inspired a new generation of American photographers seeking to break away from established darkroom procedures. At the same time, his subject matter—sometimes abstract, often frankly homoerotic, and always lyrical and poetic—opened up new avenues for younger artists. The book, which includes an extensive biocritical essay, a chronology of Teske’s life, a checklist of his exhibitions, and a complete bibliography, will be a dynamic source of information for students of photography, collectors, and all those with an interest in the life and culture of Southern California, where Teske worked for more than 50 years.
About the Author Julian Cox is associate curator of photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and curator of the Getty exhibition Spirit into Matter: The Photographs of Edmund Teske. He is the author of In Focus: Julia Margaret Cameron and coauthor, with Colin Ford, of Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs.
Publication Information: Spirit into Matter: The Photographs of Edmund Teske Julian Cox Getty Publications 180 pages, 9 x 12 inches 127 illustrations ISBN 0-89236-760-1, $70.00 ISBN 0-89236-761-X, paper, $40.00
Publication Date: July 1, 2004
Available at bookstores or from Getty Publications 800-223-3431. Distributed to the trade in the U.S. by Oxford University Press, in the U.K. and Europe by Windsor Books International, and in Canada by Canadian Manda.
# # # MEDIA CONTACT: Tracy Gilbert Getty Communications Dept. 310-440-7282 [email protected] Page 3
The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts that features the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Grant Program. The J. Paul Getty Trust and Getty programs are based at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Additional information is available on the Getty Web site at www.getty.edu.