Clark Winter

Consisting of images photographed from the pages of antique ornithological volumes, this book is Clark Winter’s tribute to the glorious world of exotic birds. In the 18th and 19th centuries, explorers wandered the planet in search of the unknown, sometimes traveling for years with little communication and guidance. When they returned home with specimens of hitherto unknown species of flora and fauna, people were astounded by such visual extravagance. Of birds in particular, their shapes, intricate color patterns and feathers were overwhelming—alternatively described as divinely inspired or the result of evolution and the battle for survival: a debate that continues to this day. With documentation of their intricate hand-colored illustrations, Birds is a testament to this lost sense of awe, one difficult yet not impossible to access in today’s connected world.

From 1973, Robert Frank’s Bleecker Street studio and home was the crucible of his creativity. Yet just as important was the weather-beaten fisherman’s cottage he bought in 1969 with his wife, artist June Leaf, in Mabou, Nova Scotia. Here they spent much of the year working for the following half-century. Frank the photographer is revered for his ability to explore and record the world with unprecedented understanding. Less known are his remarkable sculptures, which he made using found objects, old photographs and the camera itself.
Clark Winter captures the energy of the Cape Breton landscape and documents Frank amid his creative process. Seen throughout are talismans and mementos: faded postcards, trinkets and bric-a-brac, a photo of a younger Leaf and Frank laughing at us from a joyful day. Seen together, Winter’s photographs reveal yet unknown facets of a creative mind ever fearlessly at work.