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12/15/2013 03:21:30 PM · #1 |
Since we're arguing about toilets in Snaffles' thread, I thought I'd start a separate thread to argue about photography...
Lee Friedlander. Like him? Hate him? Just don't get the point?
My opinion...I spent the past week perusing a copy of the ginormous yellow MoMA book. His pictures of the jazz musicians are great. Bits and pieces of the other stuff is quite good. But by the time I was halfway through the book, I just wanted to take it back to the library and be done with it. Pages and pages of pictures of motel room TV sets, and some of the most uninteresting nudes I've ever seen. I don't get it. I know the art world thinks he's good. Someone explain why, without telling me I'm a philistine. I already know that.
On the other hand, I went to the Ray K. Metzker retrospective at the Henry yesterday. Fantastic. I can't believe I'd never heard of him before. Great control of light and dark, innovative use of multiple images to create some interesting conceptual pieces. We spent most of the afternoon there, examining every piece. Cool stuff. |
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12/15/2013 11:20:35 PM · #2 |
| Some great stuff, Ann. Thanks for posting. |
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12/15/2013 11:32:43 PM · #3 |
| Friedlander more-or-less originated the concept of the "social landscape". His early work was entirely original and much-imitated. I understand he's a bit much to take in the context of the MoMA book, but if you had the Collected Poems of a prolific poet to hand, you wouldn't read them all at once would you? *I* certainly wouldn't. In any case, Friedlander fits nicely into the ongoing "snapshot" debate here in the Parish of DPC, and I admire him enormously. |
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12/16/2013 07:18:08 AM · #4 |
he should also be recognized for his contribution to the development of the selfie ;-)
if you go to a golden corral buffet and load your plate with everything you can, you'll probably get indigestion (i speak from experience).
on the other hand, if you have the opportunity to study with a purpose, say narrowing your viewing down to a specific theme over time, you can focus on specific details and appreciate the skill/dedication/commitment/whatever that the artist developed or ignored over time. just as it takes time for artists to develop their craft, it takes time to both learn to appreciate and then to apply that appreciation; otherwise, viewing becomes a mirror of a typical dpc challenge vote: "you've got a half second to wow me or i'm gonna 5 ya."
as for me, this guy is just another of 1000's of contributors to the craft that i'd never even heard of before that i can now add to my list of those to spend some time with. thanks for sharing!
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12/16/2013 11:20:05 AM · #5 |
| Like anyone with such a vast body of work, love some of it, not all of it. I found Ray's work very exciting - the sort that makes me want to dig in and explore each composite very carefully. |
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12/16/2013 08:30:55 PM · #6 |
I like the poetry vs prose idea. All of Friedlander's work really can't be taken in a sitting. And I can see that he had a strong influence on others that came after him. But I'm looking at another ginormous retrospective book this week, this time Robert Frank,and I find myself drawn into the book, and wanting to *look* at the pictures, very much in the same way that we *looked* at the pictures at the Metzker exhibit. The individual pictures are strong visually and have a clear message, and they hold together as a body of work. I don't get the same feel from Friedlander's work.
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12/16/2013 09:08:33 PM · #7 |
| I found the stuff most people don't like fascinating. I thought the nudes were great - obvious references to modern painted nudes. And the portraits of the couples were very moving, solid relationships. |
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12/16/2013 09:38:51 PM · #8 |
| Robert Frank has a MUCH more engaging aesthetic than Friedlander... |
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12/16/2013 10:01:59 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Robert Frank has a MUCH more engaging aesthetic than Friedlander... |
True that... |
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