The 2012 photo l.a. has filled the Santa Monica Civic Center with exhibitions and educational programs that demonstrate the growing importance of fine art photography in the art world.
The show is the photographic equivalent of an encyclopedic museum, with all genres of collectible photography on display. There is broad geographical coverage from California, the American Southwest, portraits of the mid-century South by William Eggleston, fine art photography from continental Europe and a wide range of displays of contemporary fine art photography.
In addition to superb quality and excellent choices of subjects and styles, many photos for sale have a compelling history that is traceable on back of the photos which makes them unusually
rare and valuable. Hundreds are from the photo libraries of illustrated magazines which are now part of literary history — LIFE, LOOK, the Ladies Home Journal and many travel magazines. Details about the photo editors’ decisions, approval checks and comments make these photos truly one of a kind.
Renowned experts Dr. Charlotte Eyerman, Edward Robinson, Karen Sinsheimer, Stanley Smith and Tim Wride shared some recent developments with listeners at a photo l.a. forum this weekend:
– ArtFinder: a sophisticated search tool to find art which meets user defined criteria
– Artstore: a program funded by the Mellon Foundation aggregates photo images for the educational market
– Center for Creative Photography: a turnkey solution for managing the 
archives of noteworthy photographers and administering artists’ rights for their estates
– Fractional ownership: LACMA is expanding the volume of art it acquires by pooling its funds and collection management resources with other museums. It acquired the Robert Mapplethorpe photography archives together with the Getty Center, antique furniture together with the Huntington and a collection of rare prints together with the UCLA Hammer Museum
The discussion also told listeners more about two legendary photographers. Alfred Stieglitz left about one-third of his photography collection to the Art Institute of Chicago, where it can be viewed by appointment in the study room. And Ansel Adams taught his followers that “the negative is the score and the print is the performance.â€
