Media
Dr. Amelia Kraehe and Dr. Rebecca Senf (BA ’94, Art History) were selected by the Office of Research, Innovation & Impact (RII) as part of the 2024 “Women of Impact” cohort.
Each year RII solicits nominations from across the University of Arizona and selects 30 remarkable faculty and staff who have each contributed significantly to our identity as a world-class research enterprise.
Ansel Adams and the Natural Scene • Virginia Museum of Fine arts
On Friday, December 10, 2021 Dr. Rebecca Senf, Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator, Center for Creative Photography delivered a talk related to the special exhibition, Ansel Adams: Compositions in Nature.
The Mini-Marshmallow Reboot: Finding Professional Growth in a Personal Pursuit
What do mini-marshmallows have to teach us about taking risks, building instinct, being vulnerable, and the way personal interests can influence professional practice? Join the Center for Creative Photography’s chief curator, Rebecca Senf, as she links personal learning and development of “soft skills” to her photo historical work and research.
Centro de Fotografía Creativa: La colección mexicana en Tucson
El Centro de Fotografía Creativa posee la colección más extensa de archivos fotográficos en Estados Unidos e incluye galerías de exposiciones, una librería y un espacio de investigación para acceder a todas las colecciones donde sobresalen artistas mexicanos
Bound by COVID: Three books by Tucson authors nearly vanished beneath the waves of the coronavirus
Rebecca A. Senf, the chief curator at the UA’s Center for Creative Photography, wrote Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams. The book takes a fresh look at Adams, zeroing in on his early years, and it was published by the prestigious Yale University Press, in association with the CCP.
The book came out in February 2020, just a month before Taylor’s, and the CCP went all out to celebrate. Senf put together a companion exhibition, “Ansel Adams: Signature Style,” On Feb. 29, leap year day, her book had a lively launch. The center hosted an Ansel Adams birthday party, complete with cake. Senf gave a talk about her show and the book, and then had a joyful book signing.
‘Ansel Adams: Performing the Print’ Review: Photos Under Development
Before there was Photoshop, there was Ansel Adams.
“Ansel Adams: Performing the Print,” at the Phoenix Art Museum (PAM), uniquely showcases the way the great photographer used his mastery of darkroom technology to fine-tune his images. The Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Ariz., functions as the photography department for PAM, and Rebecca Senf, who curated this exhibition, is CCP’s chief curator. CCP holds Adams’s archive, which means that there are many pictures of which CCP has multiple prints. Ms. Senf, an Adams authority, took advantage of that bounty to put two, three and sometimes four prints made from the same negative side-by-side so the effects of changes in the way Adams printed it can be studied. In addition, many of the pictures are accompanied by a scan of Adams’s proof print, the initial unmediated print that showed him what he had to work with.
An Ansel Adams in Our Time Exhibition Primer
Dr. Julia Dolan, The Minor White Curator of Photography and Dr. Rebecca Senf, our first Arnold Newman Distinguished Lecturer in Photography of 2021, have a grounding conversation about Ansel Adams and his photography before Ansel Adams in Our Time opens for in-person viewing. Dr. Senf joins us virtually from Tucson, AZ, where she is the Chief Curator of the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, the renowned photography museum, archive, and study center co-founded by Adams in 1975. A recognized scholar on Adams’s life and work, Dr. Senf discusses her recent publication, Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams, her work at the CCP, and previous exhibitions of Adams’s photographs she’s curated over the years. Additionally, Drs. Senf and Dolan talk about Dr. Senf’s time at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where she co-curated the major exhibition Ansel Adams while completing her doctoral dissertation on Adams’s early photography.
Making a Photographer: The Early Works of Ansel Adams
One of the most influential photographers of his generation, Ansel Adams (1902–1984) is famous for his dramatic photographs of the American West. While many of Adams’s images are now iconic, his early work has remained largely unknown. In this first monograph dedicated to the beginnings of Adams’s career, Rebecca A. Senf argues that these early photographs are both crucial to understanding Adams’s artistic development and offer new insights into many aspects of the artist’s mature oeuvre.
Drawing on copious archival research, Senf traces the first three decades of Adams’s photographic practice—beginning with an amateur album made during his childhood and culminating with his Guggenheim-supported National Parks photography of the 1940s. Highlighting the artist’s persistence in forging a career path and his remarkable ability to learn from experience as he sharpened his image-making skills, this beautifully illustrated volume also looks at the significance of the artist’s environmentalism, including his involvement with the Sierra Club.
Made Local: Rebecca Senf
Presented as part of the 2020 PGH Photo Fair’s Lecture Series in partnership with Silver Eye Center for Photography and Carnegie Museum of Art.
Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams is an unprecedented and eye-opening examination of the early career of one of America’s most celebrated photographers. Rebecca A. Senf, chief curator at the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, traces the first three decades of Adams’s photographic practice—beginning with an amateur album made during his childhood and culminating with his Guggenheim-supported National Parks photography of the 1940s.
Even Ansel Adams Had to Earn a Living with Dr. Rebecca Senf
Co-organized by the Center for Photographic Art (Carmel, CA) and the Center for Creative Photography (Tucson, AZ), "Even Ansel Adams Had to Earn a Living" features Dr. Rebecca Senf speaking about and reading short excerpts from her new book "Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams," which reveals details about how the photographer’s early decades changed the course of his successful career.
Phoenix Home and Garden January 2021 issue: “Well Read”
“This revolutionary dive into one of America’s most renowned photographers seeks to understand his artistic development and what came before his iconic frontier images. Dr. Rebecca Senf, chief curator of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, analyzes early moments in Ansel Adams’ career, such as his commercial work with Yosemite National Park, and his own recorded reflections. These experiences, often overlooked and overshadowed by his later, more publicly known photos, are integral to understanding his creative genius. ”
What Will You Remember: “Our Favorite Photobooks of 2020!”
“From the Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography – home to the Ansel Adams archive – Rebecca Senf has leveraged her unparalleled access and curious, analytic eye to bring us something completely new and interesting about one of America’s best-recognized photographers. Senf presents an academic but accessible visual and historic context for Adams’ famous photographs by looking at the first decades of his career, shedding light on his artistic development and evolution into an environmentalist and entrepreneur.”
Medium Photo: Rebecca Senf on Ansel Adams’ Early Career
“A lecture led by Dr. Rebecca Senf, Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ. Senf is a scholar on Ansel Adams whose work has focused on his early career and how that defined and influenced his masterworks as one of the most notable photographers in the 20th century.”
Art Museum of WVU and School of Art & Design: “Dr. Rebecca Senf: Making a Photographer”
“Dr. Rebecca Senf is Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona, in Tucson. Her B.A. in Art History is from the University of Arizona; her M.A. and Ph.D. were awarded by Boston University. In 2012, her book ‘Reconstructing the View: The Grand Canyon Photographs of Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe’ was released by University of California Press; in 2017, her book ‘To Be Thirteen,’ showcasing the work of Betsy Schneider, was published by Radius Press and Phoenix Art Museum. Senf is an Ansel Adams scholar and author of a book on the photographer’s early years, called ‘Making a Photographer,’ co-published by the CCP and Yale University Press in 2020. ”
Princeton Univeristy Art Museum: "A Giant Glittering Dome of Stars": Ansel Adams and the Value of Wilderness
“Ansel Adams arrived in Yosemite as a fourteen-year-old tourist in a wilderness wonderland; over the next ten years of exploration he cemented a meaningful and lifelong connection to the natural world that informed both his environmentalism and his photography. Rebecca Senf, author of the new book ‘Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams,’ will talk about the photographer’s experiences and how they can be seen in his artwork. Moderated by Katherine A. Bussard, Peter C. Bunnell Curator of Photography. ”
A Bigger Camera: “Book Review: How He Became Ansel Adams—A Review of Senf’s Making a Photographer”
“‘Making a Photographer’ offers, again and again, new stories and new background to the formative years of Ansel’s development. It brings the treasures and the surprises from the Center for Creative Photography’s archive, and that of others, to the surface and shares them, in scholarly detail.”
photo-eye blog: “Making a Photographer: Reviewed by Scott B. Davis”
“The book itself is a page-turner, humanizing Adams’ life and presenting a thorough understanding of his work in the 1920s and 30s — a critical period in his creative development, and, perhaps, the most overlooked period of his career. Illustrated by a mix of commercial and creative photographs, the book sheds light on specific assignments, considering how they helped shape his better-known work.”
Fine Books & Collections: “A Fresh Look at Ansel Adams”
“A recently opened exhibition and a new book offer fresh perspective on Ansel Adams, the much admired (and highly collectible) photographer of the American West.
This past weekend, ‘Ansel Adams in Our Time’ went on view at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. The exhibition takes one hundred of Adams’ most iconic works and displays them alongside both nineteenth-century predecessors and contemporary successors “who both influenced, and were influenced by, the legendary American artist.” The exhibition will remain up through January 3, 2021, after which it will travel to the Portland Art Museum for a spring run.
There’s also a new book out on Adams titled ‘Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams’ by Rebecca A. Senf, published by Yale University Press in association with the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.”
PAC•TALKS: “Rebecca Senf on the Early Work of Ansel Adams”
“PAC•LA is pleased to announce a virtual visit by our long-time friend and Ansel Adams scholar, Dr. Rebecca Senf of the Center for Creative Photography. Dr. Senf’s recently published book, ‘Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams,’ will be the topic of our discussion. We will learn about Adams’ early commercial work within Yosemite National Park, and how it influenced the creation of his iconic works we know so well.”
The Conversation: “The surprising ource of Ansel Adams’ signature style” by Rebecca Senf
“Ansel Adams’ bold, black-and-white landscapes of the American wilderness are so iconic that most people know an Adams photograph when they see it.
You might be surprised to learn that Adams didn’t learn his craft by attending an elite art institution or by apprenticing with a master photographer.
My new book, “Making a Photographer: The Early Work of Ansel Adams,” charts Adams’ early years, demonstrating how this self-taught expert learned from experience to identify his audience, hone his message and imbue his photographs with drama and emotion. I discovered that the eight years he spent working for the marketing department of the Yosemite Park and Curry Company – the sole provider of lodging, dining and entertainment services for Yosemite National Park – had a particularly profound influence on his later work.”
Curator’s Audio Guide by Rebecca Senf
Listen along with Center for Creative Photography Chief Curator, Dr. Rebecca Send, as she shares insight into her new exhibition, The Qualities of LIGHT: The Story of a Pioneering New York City Photography Gallery.
Tucson Lifestyle: “Light It Up” by Scott Barker
“CCP Chief Curator Becky Senf sums up why LIGHT started a revolution: “For a long time there had been a notion that photography wasn’t art because you used a camera, which was a machine, and so anything made with a machine clearly was not an art. And the LIGHT Gallery had a mission to change people’s perception of what photography would be.””
Sounds of Cultura: Mexican Photographers, Mexican Views
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019
Keep the Channel Open
Episode 39: Becky Senf
Dr. Becky Senf is the Chief Curator at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, and the Norton Family Curator of Photography, a joint appointment between the Center and the Phoenix Art Museum. In our conversation, Dr. Senf and I talked about her work at the Center, and what the breadth and depth of the Center's archival collection enables in terms of researching and understanding the artists whose work is housed there. We also talked about a deeply personal exhibition she curated for Art Photo Index, entitled "Not MY Family Values," which is a favorite of mine. For the second segment, we talked about the #BuyArtFriday hashtag that she started, and what her hopes are for the initiative in the future.
From Above: Aerial Photography from the Center for Creative Photography
“‘From Above’ includes around 80 works from the Center’s Collection, along with several loans from artists. The exhibition explores the variety of reasons photographers have taken to the air. Even though all these photographs have strong visual appeal, and can be appreciated as photographic works of art, the prints are grouped according to the intention of their original maker. To underscore the diversity of aerial photography’s applications, we have invited specialists from a variety of fields (graphic design, cartography, architecture, land management) to respond to the photographs from their particular point of view. These specialists’ words and perspectives appear with the images, encouraging alternate ways of seeing the work.”
Excerpt From: Rebecca A. Senf. ‘From Above: Aerial Photography from the Center for Creative Photography.’ Apple Books. ”
Photograph Magazine
When Rebecca Senf left the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to join the staff of the Center for Creative Photography (CCP) in 2007, it was a homecoming in many ways. A Tucson native, she studied the history of photography as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, where the CCP is based. The current building opened in 1989, and Senf first visited in 1990. “The Center is my mecca,” she says. “It’s why I’m a photo historian. I have a memory as clear as day of standing in front of a Joel-Peter Witkin print of a severed hand and foot, as a 19 year old, and marveling at it. I was just lost in the experience of looking at that photograph.”
On Risks and Rewards
Phoenix Art Museum
The 9th Annual Focus Awards
The Focus Awards recognize individuals making critical contributions to the promotion, curation and presentation of photography. The awards this year celebrate four people and organizations instrumental in building greater awareness of the photographic arts in the general public.
Rebecca Senf: Creating Artist’s Books
“A nice advantage of the large jury of diverse professionals was that it captured an equally diverse range of perspectives on books. Over the course of two separate day-long sessions, a portion of the jury would meet and review books, each juror giving each book a score. The jury was instructed to evaluate the submissions based on their effectiveness as books (as opposed to scoring them based on the quality of the photography presented in the book). We asked ourselves: How well did the maker combine images and text into the book medium? We considered issues like the type of binding; title page and endpaper design; printing method and reproduction quality; size, placement, and sequence of images; typeface choice, color and size; and use of text.”
Being Still
The Rebecca Senf Mixtape
“ From my position more generally as a photo historian and photo curator, I’m looking for photographers who are conveying something of themselves, that only they can say, through their artwork; and who have a good command of their craft, and are using their materials in a way that complements the message they are trying to convey. I consider it a bonus if they are able to clearly discuss what they are doing – that’s going to serve the photographer well, but isn’t at all necessary to my appreciation of their photographs (unless they communicate so poorly that I don’t understand the scope or depth of the project).”
