Robert Adams
author · photographer
Robert Adams is an American photographer who has focused on the changing landscape of the American West. Born in Orange, New Jersey, in 1937, he moved with his family to Denver, Colorado, at the age of 15. Adams first came to prominence in the mid-1970s through his book The New West (1974) and his participation in the influential New Topographics exhibition (1975). His work is characterized by an acute observation of suburban American life, industrial expansion, and the transformation of the western landscape. He balances despondency with hope in his photographs of a culturally and politically charged landscape. He is an independent photographer known for his eloquent philosophy on the medium and his critical appreciation of traditional aesthetic values.[1,2,3,4]
- American West
- landscape photography
- suburban development
- industrial expansion
- New Topographics
- environmental change
Books
Works by Robert Adams
- 1981 Beauty in Photography: Essays in Defense of Traditional Values Contains eight essays discussing photography's place in art and its aesthetic standards.
- 1974 The New West Work that first brought Adams to prominence.
- 1980 From the Missouri West
- 1983 Our Lives and Our Children
- 1985 Summer Nights
- 1986 Los Angeles Spring
- 1988 Perfect Times, Perfect Places
Exhibitions
- 1975 New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape
- 2012 Robert Adams Retrospective
Awards
- 1994 MacArthur Fellowship
- Spectrum International Prize for Photography
- Deutsche Börse Photography Prize