Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/01/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks i did not know this. simon jessurun amsterdam the netherlands > just in case u haven't seen it: > > Fotografie Museum Amsterdam: > > Gary Winogrand > and american street photographers Mitch Epstein, Lee > Friedlander, Joel Meyerowitz, Henry Wessel. > > 14 January - 30 March > > Foam presents Garry Winogrand and the american street > photographers, from 14 January to 30 March 2005. > Besides showing Winogrand's principal works, the > exhibition also features work by Lee Friedlander, > Mitch Epstein, Joel Meyerowitz and Henry Wessel. The > presentation provides a unique overview of one of the > most influential movements in postwar photography, > that of American street photography in the 1960s and > '70s. Winogrand was beyond doubt the leading proponent > of this movement, and one of the greatest > photographers of the second half of the twentieth > century. Averse to traditions and conventions he and > his generation brought a new sense of visual order to > the chaos of street life in the big city. New York > City was their natural biotope, the place where they > could record modern American culture. Intractable, > radical, confrontational and innovative. > > Works by Winogrand are featured from his famous series > 'Women are Beautiful', from 'The Animals' and > individual pictures each of which has itself become an > icon in photographic history. Unique works by > Winogrand's close friends Friedlander and Wessel are > shown, many of which have never appeared in the > Netherlands before, including work from Friedlander's > influential first series Self Portraits. Unique colour > prints by Epstein and Meyerowitz from the same period > are also shown, including exceptional vintage dye > transfers. Garry Winogrand (1928-1989) has been hailed > the ultimate chronicler of modern Amercian life since > the early 1960s. Working exclusively with 35-mm film > and natural light, Winogrand wandered the streets of > New York every day photographing the people he > encountered in his inimitable apparently accidental > and unaffected way. He was obsessive, searching for > his prey like a hunter, giving new meaning to the term > 'snapshot'. His reply, when asked why he photographed, > is famous: because he wanted to know what things > looked like when they were photographed. For him, a > photo was not a representation of something; it > encapsulated in a simplified form an entire world. > Beauty was never his aim: in many of his photos the > horizon is crooked, the images are sharply cropped and > the compositions are bizarre. Yet they capture life in > the metropolis like never before. Many of his photos > are simultaneously satirical, humorous and disturbing. > > Lee Friedlander (b. 1934) was one of Winogrand's > closest friends and a photographer of comparable > stature. He also earned his spurs in the early 1960s > as a leading photographer of modern America. His > complex, multi-layered images combine commentary on > American society with a critical approach to the > two-dimensional character of the photographic surface, > thereby undermining contemporary visual conventions. > Typical of his work is his ability to show objects and > people in puzzling, even surrealist arrangements. Even > more than Winogrand, Friedlander plays an intellectual > game with the viewer. A highlight is his Self Portrait > series, taken in 1970. > > Henry Wessel (b. 1942) was another friend of > Winogrand. In 1973 he held his first solo exhibition > at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His work is > less rough and coarse than Winogrand's. His photos are > more like considered observations of life in the > United States. Whereas Winogrand and Friedlander > focused specifically on real people and relationships, > Wessel's subjects are often the typical American > settings themselves. > > Joel Meyerowitz (b. 1938) is another of the original > street photographers. In the 1960s he wandered the > streets of New York together with his hero Winogrand. > Above all, Meyerowitz championed the use of colour > photography. Unique items include the so-called dye > transfers he made in the '60s and '70s. A number of > authentic prints from this period are shown in the > exhibition. Meyerowitz has also written several books, > including Bystander: A History of Street Photography. > > Mitch Epstein (b. 1952) represents a slightly later > generation of American street photographers. In the > 1970s he took lessons from Winogrand, who became a > major influence on his work. After a long journey > through the United States he returned to the East > Coast in 1974. This exhibition features colour prints > from Epstein's early years. > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free! > http://my.yahoo.com > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information