James Danziger: There seems to be a constant striving for originality in the new photography. Young photographers have a dilemma which comes from the fact that they can take a photograph which would be very much like a Weston, or an Evans, or a Minor White, and they could be completely unaware of your work or someone else's, and yet their work will be branded, or at least seen, as derivative. Do you see any solution to that?
Minor White: The obvious solution is to eliminate the phony criticism that abounds today. Another solution is to look into any young photographer, then ask: are any of his pictures as good as or better than Edward Weston, Walker Evans, or whoever. The material is out there for anyone to use. Everything in the world has been photographed a few million times and it does not stop.
At this time in the history of photography, everything has been done. All the novelties have been done; yet the pseudo-critics ask for more pseudo-originality. All we have to look for now, is as a picture, does it move my heartstrings? If it does, why should I condemn it just because it happens to look like something Weston did?
Few young people have the power, but every once in a while, one does come through with as much power as Weston had. It is this nourishment value of the image that matters. Whether it looks like another photographer's work is a side issue, swollen out of all proportion today.
