“I’ll have to call it Spring”
This image of Edward's is another example of him arranging a photograph instead of photographing exactly what he saw. The shoes and flower pedals were placed by Edward to tell a story. This image was taken on Wildcat Hill above the woodbox in the house that Edward and Charis lived in.
“Edward was prowling around the house one morning in 1943 seeking a good spot for a desiccated pair of high-button shoes that Neil had sent him from the desert. When he found the right place, he was reminded of an earlier idea of doing a nude through a window screen-a picture within a picture arrangement....Edward summoned me and began experimenting with props, including a platter and a bamboo rake, but he still wasn’t satisfied.....If it is true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this photograph was to receive many outside endorsements as well. ”
This photograph was included in an exhibition shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 1948 called "This is Contemporary Art." Some believe this image was the most grotesque and inelgantly staged nude that Edward made during his career photographing the female figure.
This is the only negative of Edward Weston's being reproduced today. All other negatives by Edward Weston have been retired and archived in the Center for Creative Photography in Tuscon, Arizona.
Information courtesy of Edward Weston: Photographs by Amy Conger