Edmund Teske

Edmund Teske (1911-1996) known as a true individualist of twentieth-century

American photography, took chances and explored new territory. He used

revolutionary techniques, and darkroom experimentation such as duotone

solarization, multiple negative and sultry warm tone printing. His romantic and

spiritual nature became the foundation for inspired, poetic, and innovative

photographs.

Teske explored the human condition and the world around him over the course

of a sixty year career: 1930's family portraits to street life in his native Chicago,

his sojourn to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin, Hollywood actor portfolios,

Jim Morrison & The Doors, extensive work with male and female nudes using

composite images, landscapes and abstractions.

Throughout Teske's varied photographic narrative is a strong spiritual and

lyrical theme influenced by the myths and ideas of Hindu philosophy.

Although Teske had numerous exhibitions during his lifetime, a high point in

his career was in 1993 when the J. Paul Getty Museum honored him with the

exhibition Being and Becoming, acknowledging his contribution to American

photographic history.

In 2004, the Getty Center presented a major retrospective exhibition and

monograph, Spirit into Matter: The Photographs of Edmund Teske

(Julian Cox, Getty Publications) accompanied by gallery talks, lectures, and

film events. The show traveled to The Art Institute of Chicago in 2005.

Edmund Teske's photographs can be found in the permanent collections of the

J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, NY; the Art Institute of

Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum; The Center for Creative Photography,

Tuscon, and other major institutions.