Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 08:58 PM 16/02/2000 +0100, Raimo Korhonen wrote: >I´m beginning to think that also Eggleston captures "a time, place, and, even more important for me, feeling of the desperation of the times". Desperately dull... > There's something to that, you know. He lived in a place that was undergoing tremendous social, cultural and political upheaval. Some would say it still is. The way he portrays the Southern US suburbs, for example, suggests a lack of real substance in the urban setting. (Going into this further might get too far off topic, I know, but if Eggleston leaves the feeling of a dull empty betrayal in those who view his photos, then that may be suggestive of what he had to live through in his own life.) His own urban jungle looks devoid of any value, but only as far as structures are concerned; he portrays people in a more sympathetic way. One can see the honest, wholesome values of the people who live in those surroundings which would appear to be pathetic and miserable to some. By the way - you can get his books from the public library. At least that way you will have the pleasure of returning them after looking at the photos for a few days. I signed out one of his books about a year ago. I forget the title. It left me feeling very puzzled, bewildered and confused. I could not see the merit in his work, photographically speaking. The visual statements seemed confusing, cluttered and unclear. If he is trying to get at some message that is deeper than the superficial content he portrays with an apparent lack of technical expertise, then he has not succeeded - for me at least.