Typed Letter Signed, on printed personal stationery, 8vo, Los Angeles, Oct. 25, 1966 by ADAMS, ANSEL

He discusses photography in reply to his correspondent's letter. "Your questions are difficult to answer simply! You must define 'abstract'. I think there can be no Abstract photograph (ex1/2ect [sic] the Photogram). I prefer to think of the term 'Extract'...The question really is: do we communicate with others. or really just talk to ourselves? I think 95% of contemporary art is simply talking to ourselves; reaffirming the 'cult' or tribal relationships. I personally feel that the expression of subconscious feelings, etc., is only valid when such expression really touches others and contributes something to their understanding. Very little photography does this, I am afraid...True communication requires more than just creating an image in the minds[sic] eye, and then producing it as a print! No matter what this image means to you, it does not have essential value unless it can create a sense of elevation and comprehension of the realities of the world and of the spirit on the part of the spactator [sic]. Here is where the study of the human situation is as important...than [sic] the study of photography....We make hundreds of...photographers [sic] that say precisely nothing of real human importance...." He signs in full above his typed name, "Ansel Adams." With holograph corrections. Adams founded the Group f/64 along with fellow photographers Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham, which in turn created the Museum of Modern Art's department of photography. Adams' timeless and visually stunning photographs are reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books, making his photographs widely recognizable.