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Carly Sherman

Ms. Burakowski

Introduction to Photography and Digital Design

22 December 2017

Frederick Sommer Research Paper

For many, photography is seen as a way to document history or capture a beautiful

image. Frederick Sommer, however, uses photography in an entirely different way. Sommer,

unlike many other photographers, found beauty in photographing odd and sometimes disturbing

subjects. Rather than simply taking a “nice” picture, Sommer investigates the cycle of life and

death, using his photography as a tool for finding beauty in the most unlikely places. Frederick

Sommer is a photographer like I have never seen. I find many of his compositions to be an

enigma, evoking feelings of disgust but also admiration. Through his work of death and decay,

Sommer captures the beauty and complexity that can be found in even the most disturbing

subjects.

Born on September 7, 1905, Sommer was an Italian immigrant who lived in Brazil

throughout childhood until eventually settling in America as a young adult, when he moved to

Arizona with his wife, Francis Elisabeth. A graduate of Landscape Architecture, Sommer was

already familiar with art and design. However, it was not until he was diagnosed with

tuberculosis that he began to pursue photography. Greatly influenced by the desert landscape

surrounding him, Sommer was inspired by his friendships with artists Max Ernst, Alfred

Stieglitz, and Edward Weston (Frederick Sommer in Context: Early Influences and Work). Not
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well-known during his lifetime, Sommer’s greatest influence was that which he left on his

friends. Today, however, he is credited as a pioneer of Surrealism. Sommer is credited for

inventing the “horizonless landscape”, in which he photographs a landscape without any explicit

features, resulting in a “hypnotic, pulsating effect” (Frederick Sommer in Context: Early

Influences and Work). In addition to such landscapes, Sommer is famous for his practice of

Surrealism. Using his large-format camera, Sommer made images appear flattened but also

managed to capture great detail (Victoria and Albert Museum). Sommer is perhaps most

well-known for his series of dead and decaying animals in the Arizona desert, in which he

contemplates the cycle of life.

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Sommer, Frederick . ​Chicken​. 1939. Photograph. ​J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty

Center, Los Angeles. ​Frederick Sommer​. Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation. Web. 26

November 2017.

Photographed in 1939, this image is a “trimmed 8x10 inch contact print” (Galleries).

This is a rather gruesome image of chicken entrails, however, it is the somewhat disturbing

subject matter in this piece is what makes it so interesting. Back in the 1930s, the time this

photograph was taken, these parts of the chicken were simply thrown away by a butcher

(Galleries). All of the beauty and complexity that lies within the chicken was considered mere

garbage, thus giving this piece a greater impact. I think Sommer’s intent is to show the

complexities of life. He is revealing that there are intricacies even within that which is normally

disregarded, such as a chicken head. I think that this image is greatly effective, as it emphasizes

nothing but the chicken, through the use of simplification and negative space. The contrast

between the dark chicken innards and the white background truly helps emphasize the piece. I

find this picture to be moving, although it is hard to express why. This inexpressible feeling is

what moved me to choose Sommer as my featured photographer for this research project.

Through my own work, I hope to move others in the same way that his work moved me.
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Sommer, Frederick. ​Untitled​. 1939. Photograph. Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge. ​Frederick

Sommer​. Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation. Web. 26 November 2017.

Created in 1939, this image, too is a “trimmed 8x10 inch contact print” (Galleries). This

photograph shows a disgusting subject, as its focus is an amputated foot. The image is somewhat

hard to look at, and is greatly controversial. At the time, and still today, this piece came with

much controversy due to its graphic subject matter. Especially in the early 20th century, when

people were more modest and conservative, this piece was not graciously received. I think that

this image is focused on the concept of decay. Sommer, as an artist, seems very interested in the

cycle of life and death. This piece seems to be studying death, analyzing the decay of something

that what once was alive. This photograph is very similar, compositionally, to the image of the

chicken head. This image, too, utilizes simplicity and contrasting colors to emphasize the
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subject, thus making it an effective composition. This piece definitely evokes feelings from the

viewer, whether they be appreciation or disgust. Either way, this image makes its viewers feel

something important. I do not “like” this image, but I appreciate it. I find it graphic and, for a

lack of better words, somewhat gross. However, I find this piece moving. This photograph leaves

an impact on its viewer, which is something that I hope to achieve through my photography.

Sommer, Frederick.​ Arizona Landscape (Bagdad)​. 1943. Photograph. Victoria and Albert

Museum, London. ​Frederick Sommer​. Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation. Web. 26

November 2017.

Taken in 1943, this photograph is a “trimmed 8x10 inch contact print” (Galleries). This

image is of an Arizona desert landscape. With no horizon in this image, it becomes abstract,

obscuring to the viewer what is right in front of her. This photograph was one of the first of its
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kind. Sommer invented the idea of this type of photograph, one which lacks any true subject or

focal point. Because of this, the image is even more effective, making the viewer wonder what

her eye should be focused on. This image was intended to draw attention to our surrounding

environment and all of the details that might be missed at a first glance. According to Sommer

about his desert photography, “The desert can be a stingy, stark situation, but by the time you

take a few pictures you start to see the interrelationships.” (Frederick Sommer in Context: Early

Influences and Work). This image is greatly effective in its purpose. It represents the desert in a

way that it has never before been shown. It shows an abstract vitality to an otherwise barren

place, giving it a more complex level that it has not yet been discovered. This image, in its

simplicity yet complexity, is something that I can strive for as a photographer. I hope to be as

creative as Sommer in his creation of the “horizonless landscape”, and I intend on re-creating

such an image.
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Sommer, Frederick. ​Livia​. 1948. Photograph. Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan. ​Frederick

Sommer​. Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation. Web. 26 November 2017.

Photographed in 1948, this image, too is a “trimmed 8x10 inch contact print” (Galleries).

This photograph is a portrait of a young girl. She is positioned in the center of the frame, eye

level to the camera, and is wearing white. A portrait was a common type of photography during

this time period. Without any children of his own, Sommer photographed this child who lived in

his town (Galleries). I am not exactly sure which message is trying to be conveyed through this

photograph. However, the image does convey a feeling of serenity. The girl’s white dress and

light eyes create a drastic contrast from the dark background behind her, making her seem

ethereal or angelic. I think this image is effective in its purpose to evoke some feeling from the

viewer. This photograph represents a childlike innocence among a dark desert, once again going

with Sommer’s theme of finding beauty in odd places. I like this image because it is one of the

few portraits that Sommer has done. It feels much unlike most of his other work. Due to the

graphic content of most of his other photographs, I think this photograph provides a bit of

lightness that is not found in most of his other works.

Primarily through his use of contrast colors and obscure subject matter, Sommer

managed to reveal beauty in places that it otherwise would not be found. Sommer’s creative

background as an architect helped him to think outside the box when composing his

photographs. After experiencing this photography, it is clear that no part of life should be

overlooked; that beauty can be found in even the most unlikely places. Through my own

photography, I hope to reveal beauty to the viewer, however, I would rather do so without any

explicit subjects. In my versions of these photographs, I intend to loosely recreate the images but
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in a whimsical sense. I hope to capture the beauty of life as Sommer did, but in a lighter way. As

shown through Sommer’s wide variety of subjects, even the parts of life that are considered

unimportant have their own complexity and beauty within.

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Works Cited

“Frederick Sommer: Biography .” ​Artnet​, Artnet Worldwide Corporation , 2017,

www.artnet.com/artists/frederick-sommer/biography.

“Frederick Sommer in Context: Early Influences and Work.” ​National Gallery of Art​, National

Gallery of Art, 2017,

www.nga.gov/Collection/photographs/frederick-sommer/early-influences-and-work.html

)++.

“Frederick Sommer in Context: Introduction.” ​National Gallery of Art​, National Gallery of Art,

2017, www.nga.gov/Collection/photographs/frederick-sommer.html.

“Galleries.” ​Frederick Sommer​, Frederick and Frances Sommer Foundation, 2004,

www.fredericksommer.org/gallery/.

Victoria and Albert Museum, Online Museum, Web Team. “Frederick Sommer Exhibition.”

Victoria and Albert Museum​, Victoria and Albert Museum, 12 June 2013,

www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/frederick-sommer-exhibition/.