discovering Gary Winogrand's photographs

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sirius

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Hi Everyone,

I've spent many hours in the art sections of libraries while I was growing up. I always mused that librarians rolled their eyes when they saw me walk in because I always left stack and stacks of those huge HEAVY art books piled up in the reading areas. In all my wanderings through the photography section I never came across a Gary Winogrand book?! I recently stumbled across his work on line. I'm so taken with it!

I bought a lovely book on Amazon. I recommend this one to anyone who wants to see more of this great artist. It is a good price for a beautiful hardcover book.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/08...f=pd_bbs_1/002-7743327-3016031?_encoding=UTF8

If you are new to Winogrands work then have a look at these links.

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/W/winogrand/winogrand_flip_full.html

http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/xtol1.html

http://www.artnet.com/artist/17981/garry-winogrand.html

It is really stunning how he could capture a fleeting expression. His compositional skill was so refined; he was able to express an incredible range of human feeling and experience. There is such throbling life in these old black and white photos!

Here is the story about his last Leica M4.

http://www.cameraquest.com/LeicaM4G.htm
 
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Thanks for the tips.

I enjoyed looking through the work on your galleries. I especially like what you do with space in your landscapes.
 
I never understood Winogrand's work. Thought it was snapshots. Lately, I've found I appreciate his work more and more. (And I find myself doing his type of work). The fact that he left--following his death--over 4,000 rolls of undeveloped film tell you he was someone who took his work seriously! Prolific!
 
I recently bought a copy of Figments. I agree, it's a great introduction to Winogrand's pictures. Of special interest to me (being someone who has hung around with artists for 20-odd years and who has proof-read their artist's statements) is John Szarkowski's superbly lucid essay at the beginning of the book. Unlike many (most) art writers, he uses plain English, and he tells the story of a complex photographer and his body of work simply, compellingly, and well.

Thirty-five bucks US? If you like or are at all curious about Winogrand, this is a no-brainer. Buy.
 
Biggles said:
I recently bought a copy of Figments. I agree, it's a great introduction to Winogrand's pictures. Of special interest to me (being someone who has hung around with artists for 20-odd years and who has proof-read their artist's statements) is John Szarkowski's superbly lucid essay at the beginning of the book. Unlike many (most) art writers, he uses plain English, and he tells the story of a complex photographer and his body of work simply, compellingly, and well.

Thirty-five bucks US? If you like or are at all curious about Winogrand, this is a no-brainer. Buy.
Click to expand...

I agree; the Szarkowski essay is excellent, a page turner. His insight on why Winogrand had so many rolls of film after his death is fascinating, as are the contact sheets he provides from some of those rolls. It comes across as tragic, really, a great read, though.



🙂
 
contact sheets

contact sheets

Yes, I really liked seeing the contact sheets as well (there are only two in this book). It really shows how he thought and worked on a subject. I wish that there were more books with contact sheets like that.
 
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