I saw it yesterday, too. The exhibit's organized chronologically, and it's remarkable how he progressed. Of course he was a natural talent, but his earliest work, also pre-Group F/64, being soft-focused and printed on a paper giving it an 'albumen' look, certainly isn't dazzling. By the mid-1930s, though, he had gained the impressive control of his exposure/development that gives the 3-dimensional quality that can't be burned and dodged into a print. The prints have to be seen in person.
He also started as a pianist, and intended to make a living concertising. There's a small room that loops a short video biography, which has a sample of his playing in the 1970s. If he had decided to go that route, the world would be no worse for wear - he was fairly good at that, too. One of his well-known quotes makes the analogy that the negative is like the music score and the print is like the performance.
It makes a good parallel to Richard Wagner, who started as a fairly competent poet and journalist; although Wagner published several books and commentaries inbetween writing music-dramas, while I don't think Adams gave any significant public music performances; he was too busy climbing 13,000-foot mountains with his 8x10.
They were both activists, as well. Adams was an active environmentalist and was part of the American Socialist movement during the 1920s and 30s. Wagner was an active Socialist, as well, and in addition to publishing volumes of articles and commentaries on this during the 19th Century, he participated in both Dresden uprisings in 1848, either making hand-grenades or running reconnaissance.
Rob
