William Eggleston
“Eggleston is the beginning of modern color photography.” – John Szarkowski, Director Emeritus, Photography, MoMA
“It would be difficult to imagine a world according to David Lynch, Gus Van Sant, Juergen Teller or Sofia Coppola without the world according to William Eggleston.” – The Observer
These are dramatic statements that bear further discussion. But Eggleston’s is important work and well worth becoming better acquainted with.
Eggleston Photos
William Eggleston Photographer
William Eggleston In The Real World
Learn more about color in my eBooks, DVDs, and workshops.
cemalekin
08.03.2009 at 12:34In a world where “pretty” is confused with “beauty”, appreciating Eggleston requires a major leap out of one’s aesthetic beliefs, which most people prefer not to do. Instead, they remain where they are with their hypotheses about “good photography”, whether these hypotheses make sense or not. I became acquainted with Eggleston and Shore a short while ago, perhaps a few years, which I regret very much. They offer a mental perspective on photography that is extraordinarily simple and visible for all; yet most would rather focus on “pretty”, not even explore the notion of “beauty.”
Photography is about life and living, it is inherently humanistic, and it encompasses as subjects everything around us; yes, including the “mundane” and “banal” whatever they may mean and be. Both Eggleston and Shore pointed their lenses in directions others neglected. They are not alone of course, Tod Pappageorge, Alex Soth, and other have done it.
Beauty is not in the subject, but what the subject does to the viewer.