Interview with Marion Patterson : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Marion Patterson (1955 AB Philosophy) is a well-known photographer and teacher of photographic art. After graduating in philosophy from Stanford, she studied photography at the San Francisco Art Institute (then called the California School of Fine Arts) from 1956 to 1958 with Pirkle Jones, Dorothea Lange, and Minor White before working for Virginia and Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park from 1958 to 1961. She describes her childhood and schooling in Burlingame and her undergraduate years at Stanford where she learned “how to think” in the Philosophy Department but also experienced restrictions as a woman. She recalls the circumstances that led her to embark on a life as an artist and shares memories of Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Minor White, and others in the art photography world. She describes her approach to photography, her 1965 exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, teaching introductory photography to community college students, and the publication of her 2002 album Grains of Sand. She also reflects on the long struggle for opportunities and recognition that she and other woman photographers faced.
- Summary
- Early life and influences • Schooling and art education in Burlingame • First year at Stanford and living off campus • Early interest in photography • Stanford major in philosophy and minor in art • Limited employment prospects and placement advice • Studying photography at the California School of Fine Arts with Pirkle Jones and meeting Ansel Adams • Reflections on Stanford academics, including pre-med, Western Civ, and art department • Becoming a philosophy major with advisor John D. Goheen • Favorite faculty members • Academic burnout, library job, and early engagement to be married • School of Fine Arts community • Encouragement from Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Minor White, Nate Oliviera, and others • San Francisco art scene in the 1950s and 1960s • Photography using the zone system • Yosemite years, including Virginia and Ansel Adams • Photography becoming accepted as an art • Role in Ansel Adams’ Yosemite studio; remembering Ansel Adams’ generosity and energy • Specific inspirations from Dorothea Lange and Minor White • “Technique allows the heart to expand” • Observations on contemporary photography’s loss of soul with digital technology • Current documentary work in photography • Assistant photo editor at Sunset magazine in the early 1960s • First exhibition of nature photography at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1965 • Antarctica as personal highlight in her nature photography • Work in painting • Teaching photography at De Anza and Foothill colleges • Graduate work at California State University, San Francisco • Working with James Broughton and Imogen Cunningham • Tibetan Buddhism • Reflections on the negative impact of humans on the planet • A lifetime of learning and experiences and learning to think at Stanford • Volunteering in the Kashia Pomo Reservation community • Life in Gualala • Returning for recent Stanford reunions and reflections on how Stanford has changed • Memories of the Stanford campus • Leo Holub and the Stanford photography department • Story of how teaching Photo I at Foothill College and the encouragement of her students, including “Stanford wives,” led to the publication of Grains of Sand (Stanford University Press, 2002) • Favorite images from the book • Anecdote on securing her first exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art • The importance of people, including Stanford teachers, in her life • Reflections on the struggles faced by women photographers
Description
| Type of resource | sound recording-nonmusical, text, still image |
|---|---|
| Extent | 1 audio file; 1 text file; 1 photograph |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | June 6, 2019 |
| Language | English |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Patterson, Marion, 1933- | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Patterson, Marion, 1933- | |
| Interviewer | Humburg, Judee | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Patterson, Marion, 1933- |
|---|---|
| Subject | Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 |
| Subject | Nature photography |
| Subject | Women photographers > California |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | A native San Franciscan, graduate of Stanford University and with a master’s degree from California State University, San Francisco, Marion Patterson has been seriously involved in photography since 1956, when she began studies at the San Francisco Art Institute with such luminaries as Dorothea Lange and Minor White. From 1958 to 1961, she worked for Virginia and Ansel Adams in Yosemite and has remained closely associated with the Adams family since then. From 1961 to 1964 she was assistant to the photography editor of Sunset Magazine. While at Sunset, she prepared her first major exhibit, which was shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1965. Living in Oaxaca, Mexico, for a year resulted in another one-woman exhibit at the Oakland Museum in 1966. In 1968, Patterson began teaching at Foothill and De Anza Colleges in California, later becoming chair of the Foothill photography program. She has taught workshops for University of California, Santa Cruz, Extension among others. Her photographs have been widely published and exhibited nationally and in Mexico, Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her travel and fine art images range from images of Antarctica, the American Southwest, North and South America, China, and Tibet, among others. She is particularly known for her close-up photographs of what she calls the Intimate Landscape. Patterson now resides in the northern California coastal town of Gualala where she continues to photograph and paint. |
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| Transcript |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/dg625vk4385 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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