A controversial pioneer of color photography, William Eggleston makes the fleeting and the everyday worthy of our attention.
Influential to both photographers and filmmakers, Eggleston possesses a painter’s eye for pure colors and complex compositions. From a tricycle on a suburban Memphis street to a mixed drink being savored on a plane passing through the clouds, the artist transforms mundane moments into visual poetry.
Visit Eggleston’s website, view his concurrent New York and London exhibitions of recent work, read his interview with Harmony Korine, catch his traveling retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago in February, and buy the comprehensive catalogue
William Eggleston. Untitled, n.d., from Los Alamos, 1965-68 and 1972-74 (published 2003). 1965-68 and 1972-74. Dye transfer print, 17 3/4 x 12 inches (45.1 x 30.5 cm.) Private collection. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy of Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston. Untitled, n.d., from Los Alamos, 1965-68 and 1972-74 (published in 2003). 1965-68 and 1972-74. Dye transfer print, 12 x 17 3/4 inches (30.5 x 45.1 cm.) Private collection. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy of Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston. Untitled, n.d., from Los Alamos, 1965-68 and 1972-74 (published 2003). 1965-68 and 1972-74. Dye transfer print, 17 3/4 x 12 in. (45.1 x 30.5 cm.) Private collection. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston. Memphis, c. 1969-70, from William Eggleston’s Guide, 1976, c. 1969-70. Dye transfer print, 15 15/16 x 19 15/16 in (40.5 x 50.6 cm.) The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, New York. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston. Untitled, n.d., from Los Alamos, 1965-68 and 1972-74 (published 2003). 1965-68 and 1972-74. Dye transfer print, 17 3/4 x 12 in (45.1 x 30.5 cm.) Private collection. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston. Untitled, c. 1971-73, from Troubled Waters, 1980, c. 1971-73. Dye transfer print, 15 7/8 x 19 15/16 in (40.3 x 50.6 cm.) Collection Marcia Dunn and Jonathan Sobel. © Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.
William Eggleston, Stranded in Canton, 1973 (Watch full size)
Comments (12)
If you have camera and CAN”T find the mundane in life you claim Eggleson passes as visual poetry, you need to get out more. Sorry. Why would one be content to capture freshman photo class exercises? Or it it the old “I get it soo much that I can make people believe this stuff is “visual poetry”. It’s a one trick pony at best. But not over and over. The story is not on the bench but on the field. Besides, Warhol did this 40 years ago and better.
it is such a shame that some can not see beyond the obvious … more shameful is that
most of these people call themselves artists.
Eggleston did not just photograph the mundane. he captured color. he captured shadow.
he captured emotion.
how sad that so many people need to be smacked upside the head instead of actually
OBSERVING. they view art much like the way they view television – without effort or thought.
Warhol? Please. There is no comparison. Eggleston finds brilliant glory in everyday life, his pictures leave you feeling like you have been walking around with your eyes closed. Warhol had to court the famous to make his work even moderately interesting.
Eggleston had a huge influence on photography. If you can’t place things into context, you shouldn’t respond to a story. He was the first photographer to capture the mundane, and in color. I love Warhol, but to compare them is just completely off mark. They have little to nothing in common, other than doing something different in the history of art and breaking boundaries. Eggleston’s images still influence photographer’s and are both emotionally and visually compelling.
Jesus, you people need to calm the f down.
I do not think it is agitation. I think it is shock.
dstarr, did you even look at the dates of the photos before making stupid comments about what Warhol was doing 40 years ago? “The story is not on the bench but on the field”? Are these the declarations about how art should be made that make you feel important? How bout you open your mind a little, or take a pass on it with “Ehh, not for me”? Or is this how you react when YOU don’t “get” something?
“William Eggleston: Analog,” at Chiem and Read Gallery, New York, NY
AUDIO ART WORK by David Rapoport, Recorded January 7, 2010.
LINK:
http://photoandart.com/eggleston.htm
what chroniclink said.
Eggleston rules – I have always liked his work. Kudos to Spoon for putting one of his photos on the cover of Transference.
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I doubt Eggleston would agree that his shots are pure poetry or a celebration of the mundane. He’s an old-school Southerner who has said he despises much of modern life. To the contrary, he’s exploring the banal, the overblown, the glut behind the glitz, the pool that’s all shallow end, the grocery-cart boy with matinee-idol looks, etc.
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