Shredded Wheat Tower

Imogen Cunningham American

Not on view

Radiating outward, the beams of this water tower unfold as if in bloom. Imogen Cunningham is best known for her floral studies, which monumentalize the intricate architecture of petals and leaves. Here, she turns her signature subject on its head, finding organic elegance in an industrial view. Cunningham exhibited this photograph at the landmark 1929 Film und Foto exhibition in Stuttgart, and its inverted viewpoint
reflects the influence of the show’s avant-garde organizers. Pioneering a new West Coast modernism, Cunningham adapted European approaches to the California skyline, here depicting a Shredded Wheat factory near her home in Oakland.

Shredded Wheat Tower, Imogen Cunningham (American, Portland, Oregon 1883–1976 San Francisco, California), Gelatin silver print

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