Willard Van Dyke
Encyclopedia
Willard Van Dyke was an American filmmaker and photographer who believed that photography could have a major influence on the world.
Willard Van Dyke apprenticed with Edward Weston
in 1928 and co-founded the Group f/64
in 1932 with Imogen Cunningham
, Ansel Adams
, and Weston. The group believed in sharp-focus, "straight photography
."
In 1935, Van Dyke moved to New York City
and began making documentary films with the belief that films "could change the world." His name soon became synonymous with social documentary in the U.S. His images of cottonfields, steelmills and industrial towns, and his portraits of unemployed factory workers and their families, provide an invaluable chronicle of those years and have become timeless examples of cinematic art. He was a cinematographer on Pare Lorentz
's The River
(1938).
The City, his 1938 collaboration with Ralph Steiner
, ran for two years at the 1939 New York World's Fair
. During World War II
, he produced propaganda movies for the government. In 1948, Van Dyke made the documentary film
The Photographer about Edward Weston.
He successfully fought attempts to blacklist
him during the 1950s. Van Dyke was director of the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art
from 1965 to 1974.
In 1967 he was a member of the jury at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival
.
In 1960 he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Category of Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for: Skyscraper (1960); shared with Shirley Clarke and Irving Jacoby.
Willard Van Dyke apprenticed with Edward Weston
Edward Weston
Edward Henry Weston was a 20th century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his forty-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of...
in 1928 and co-founded the Group f/64
Group f/64
Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th century San Francisco photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western viewpoint...
in 1932 with Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her photography of botanicals, nudes and industry.-Life and career:...
, Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
, and Weston. The group believed in sharp-focus, "straight photography
Straight photography
Pure photography or straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene as realistically and objectively as permitted by the medium, renouncing the use of manipulation....
."
In 1935, Van Dyke moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began making documentary films with the belief that films "could change the world." His name soon became synonymous with social documentary in the U.S. His images of cottonfields, steelmills and industrial towns, and his portraits of unemployed factory workers and their families, provide an invaluable chronicle of those years and have become timeless examples of cinematic art. He was a cinematographer on Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz was an American filmmaker known for his movies about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia, he was educated at Wesleyan College and West Virginia University. As a young film critic in New York and Hollywood, Lorentz spoke out against censorship in...
's The River
The River (1938 film)
The River is a 1938 short documentary film which shows the importance of the Mississippi River to the United States, and how farming and timber practices had caused topsoil to be swept down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico, leading to catastrophic floods and impoverishing farmers...
(1938).
The City, his 1938 collaboration with Ralph Steiner
Ralph Steiner
Ralph Steiner was an American photographer, pioneer documentarian and a key figure among avant-garde filmmakers in the 1930s.-Biography:...
, ran for two years at the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he produced propaganda movies for the government. In 1948, Van Dyke made the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The Photographer about Edward Weston.
He successfully fought attempts to blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
him during the 1950s. Van Dyke was director of the Department of Film at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
from 1965 to 1974.
In 1967 he was a member of the jury at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival
17th Berlin International Film Festival
The 17th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 23 to July 4, 1967.-Jury:* Thorold Dickinson * Rüdiger von Hirschberg* Knud Leif Thomsen* Michel Aubriant* Sashadhar Mukerjee* Aleksandar Petrović* Willard Van Dyke...
.
In 1960 he was nominated for an Academy Award in the Category of Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects for: Skyscraper (1960); shared with Shirley Clarke and Irving Jacoby.