From what I understand from my readings about Minor White, his role as teacher was as much or more important than his role as photographer. He taught classes, workshops and retreats throughout his life – at the California School of Fine Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on the road and in his own home. One student, Carl Chiarenza, said “My existence has benefited from experiencing Minor White’s teaching — his presence and example, as much as his words.”

1. White taught photography as an expression of the photographer. 

As mentioned in the previous post, Alfred Stieglitz introduced the idea of photographs as equivalents to White – one’s that reflect the inner state of the photographer. From Ansel Adams, White learned about the Zone System and practiced using tonal values as a form of expression. Edward Weston influenced White’s use of visual form as a way to express universal ideas.

“…Stieglitz, Weston and Ansel all gave me exactly what I needed at that time. I took one thing from each: technique from Ansel, the love of nature from Weston, and from Stieglitz the affirmation that I was alive and I could photograph.” ~ Wikipedia

White developed a three-year course at the California School of Fine Arts on the subject of personal expressive photography. These types of photographs are wholly authentic, yet express something beyond what they are.

“Minor White discovered that teaching photography was as important for him as photography itself. It was his vocation. However, there was one more important reason for his decision to dedicate himself to teaching. He realized that hardly anyone could interpret his photographs appropriately without relevant preparation. This was the reason why White taught photography and also gave lectures to the wider public. He wanted to awaken sensitivity, to shape the visual culture of the society.” ~ The Tao of Minor White’s Photography

2. Photography was a way of life for Minor White. 

Like my other mentor in seeing, Frederick Franck, White lived a completely integrated life.

“His teaching methods were dramatic rather than expository (he was not articulate!); he showed rather than told what he had in mind, which often required more of his students than they wanted to do.” ~ Rites and Passages

I’ve had similar experiences. I can’t always articulate what it means to live a contemplative life through photography. It’s an ongoing process and one that has to be lived and practiced. Hopefully, some of what I learn rubs off onto others. It’s also not easy, something that can be learned in a single exercise. You have to plant the seed and hope that it will be watered. Practice is everything.

“The big thing that Minor did as a teacher was to demonstrate, in word and deed, what a truly deep involvement in photography was. He showed you what it was to have photography at the heart of your life. It was an inspiration and a challenge.” ~ Paul Caponigro, Rites and Passages

To do this, he incorporated spirituality, Zen, and psychology (even hypnotism) into his teaching. Sometimes, he would use drawing as a way of having his students experience the meaning of “equivalence.”

There were some, Ansel Adams included, who felt that White went too far; that he was a great photographer, but engaged in too much navel gazing. Some of his psychological approaches could be misplaced. I agree that this is possible, yet Adams was concerned with pictures and White not so much. White was concerned with spirit.

3. Minor White focused on learning to see.

When White moved to teach at MIT, he designed a course called ‘Creative Audience.’ He believed that the traditional ways of teaching photography kept people from seeing. This new course did not involve picture making at all. Instead, he used techniques for heightening the senses and becoming more aware of bodily experiences in the moment.

“At first, his relationship with MIT was tenuous. They were concerned that White might be too unorthodox. Soon, however, his role became clear: to expose students to creativity in a medium other than their own. Exercises included meditation and readings in Zen. This disturbed some students who came “to study photography, not crawl around on the floor.” Still, many came away dazzled by White, with a deeper understanding of their selves and of the creative process of seeing.” ~ Dreams with a Memory

One student, John Daido Loori, who later became a Zen monk said,

“I really wanted to learn to see the way he did, to capture my subjects in a way that didn’t render them lifeless and two-dimensional. I didn’t realize that Minor was teaching us exactly that: not only to see images, but to feel them, smell them, taste them. He was teaching us how to be photography.” ~ Wikipedia

4. He was a generous teacher.

“Minor was a seeker, a searcher. From Catholicism to Boleslavksy to Zen to astrology, from I Ching to Ouspensky and Gurdjieff, from hypnosis to Schapiro and Wölfflin; from the hell of the military to the depths of music and art and the revelations he found in the photography of Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Alfred Stieglitz. And with all he found, he was always generous to others; especially his students, for whom he was always there. When we were at his apartment he would share his cooking, drinks, and friendship. Yet he was a loner. Concentration, contemplation, and meditation were at his core whether making, studying, listening, or engaging. He preferred to be alone with silence, spirit, self.” ~ Where You and Image Blend: Minor White

I relate to this aspect of White’s being. I live in a constant dance between solitude and sharing. All of my favourite photography teachers have been extremely generous in sharing what they know and where they’re still exploring. For they know that each of us will take that knowledge and make it uniquely our own.

What do you look for in a teacher?

Articles Cited

Dreams with a Memory – Minor White Remembered
Masters of Photography: Minor White and Photographic Education
Where You and Image Blend: On Learning from Minor White
Minor White on Wikipedia
Letting Resonance Guide Your Photography