Untitled 6. Friends of Photography, 1973. Victor Landweber, Elaine Mayes, et al.

Several articles inc. "The Transformation of the Avant-Garde," by R.W. Corrigan; numerous photos from exhibit, including work by Victor Landweber and Elaine Mayes. An early number of this collectible series of softcover books for which 58 were issued, 1972-1998. Wraps, staple bound. Fine.  Summary:

Untitled 6 (1973), edited by Fred R. Parker and published by The Friends of Photography in Carmel, California, is a critically important early volume from the organization's flagship journal series. Spanning 56 pages, this issue functions as a crucial theoretical and visual cross-section of American photography during a period of intense institutional and aesthetic transition, directly addressing how the medium was redefining its avant-garde boundaries.

The Theoretical Anchor: Robert W. Corrigan

The intellectual framework of the issue is established by a seminal essay by cultural theorist and theater scholar Robert W. Corrigan:

• "The Transformation of the Avant-Garde": Corrigan analyzes the shifting landscape of contemporary art, arguing that the traditional concept of the "avant-garde"—which historically relied on a clear bourgeois establishment to rebel against—had collapsed. In a postmodern world that rapidly absorbs and commodifies subversion, Corrigan explores how artists must find new, internalized, and systemic ways to challenge visual and societal structures.

Exhibition Portfolio and Visual Highlights

The remainder of the publication is dedicated to a rich portfolio of high-fidelity black-and-white plates reproducing works from a major concurrent Friends of Photography exhibition. The selection highlights photographers who were actively breaking away from mid-century "straight photography" toward more conceptual, deadpan, or highly personal documentations:

• Victor Landweber: Known for his pristine, formal, and often ironic examinations of everyday American consumer culture. Landweber’s contributions showcase his sharp eye for graphic geometry and structural isolation, treating mundane subjects with a clinical, fine-art reverence.

• Elaine Mayes: Represented by her raw, intuitive, and deeply influential documentary work. Having famously photographed the youth culture of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in the late 1960s, Mayes' imagery in Untitled 6 highlights her transition into more abstract, evocative landscapes and intimate, unposed human tableaus that reject romantic pictorialism.

• Broader Curatorial Survey: The issue also includes diverse plates from other vanguard contemporary image-makers of the early 1970s, illustrating a collective push toward serial imagery, street-level realism, and alternative ways of framing the changing American landscape.

Significance

Untitled 6 remains a highly sought-after collector's volume because it captures the exact moment photography integrated with broader postmodern art theory. By pairing Robert W. Corrigan’s macro-critique of the avant-garde with the micro-visual experiments of Landweber and Mayes, The Friends of Photography successfully documented a pivotal generational handoff—away from the heroic landscape traditions of the past and toward a complex, conceptually driven future.