Lee Friedlander

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KenR

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Just came back from seeing Lee Friedlander:America By Car at the Whitney Museum in NYC. One of the best shows that I've seen in quite a while. Anyone who has ever taken a road trip will appreciate this one. The photographer's sense of humor, sense of place and sense of the absurd come through in every photograph. At first I was a bit put off by the car parts (generally a window, a rear view mirror and part of the dashboard) that appear in every photograph, but then I began to appreciate the framing that these perform and how integral to the pictures they really are. I gave it a second walk around and thought that it was better (and laughed more) the second time through.
 
I checked out some of the pics online and was intrigued enough that I want to see the exhibit next time I’m in the area.
I’m wondering though if the repetitive nature of using the cars a-pillars/side view mirrors for framing will grow tiresome over a greater number of photographs.
I can imagine this guy sitting in his car, driving back’n forth, attempting to get the ‘framing’ just right as passerby’s wonder what the crazy old guy was up to.
Not getting out of the car ‘works’ for me as a way to differentiate the safe predictable insular confines of the car juxtaposed to the ‘sensory overload’ of the chaotic world outside, as intended.
Looks like a fun exhibit.
 
Obviously he could have poked the camera out the window had he wanted to, so as to exclude the car itself, but he wanted to give you the feeling of being in the car, along on the trip. Similarly the grouping of the photos was very tight, the blurb on the wall said that Friedlander wanted it that way, I think to give you the sense the landscape is all around you and inescapable as you drive along in your rental car. These were not meant to be traditional landscapes in the Ansel Adams mode.
 
Got the book last week - really good, love this series!

What is great about it is it's pure Friedlander, with humor and wit that can make you laugh out loud, even if every photo is taken from the car.
 
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DougFord said:
I’m wondering though if the repetitive nature of using the cars a-pillars/side view mirrors for framing will grow tiresome over a greater number of photographs.
Looks like a fun exhibit.
Click to expand...

Got the book the other day.
Very good but it is repetitive.
A few shots out of the back window (leaving town ) or skylight may have added some variety 🙂
Fascinating never the less.
 
I've not seen the exhibition (and it's probably not coming to Canberra!) or the book but have found a few images on the web. I have a question - the images I've seen all appear to have been taken in a car with a sunroof, which help balance the exposure for the car interior as well as the outside world. Is true for all the photos? I was inspired by what I'd seen and have tried for a few similar images but my car lacks a sunroof and couldn'r achieve the same effect!
 
ChrisN,

He's got a flash almost welded onto the top of his SWC above the VF (see the portrait Avedon did of him).

So possibly also the subtle use of a little flash inside the car to open up the dash and interior details.

D.
 
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Erik Friedlander, Lee's son, is a cello player. His album "Block Ice & Propane" is music he wrote based on many summer long cross country trips with his family in their pickup truck with camper shell. The album name is from what he calls their continuous search for block ice & propane.
 
ChrisN & Davo,
Yes, a lot of the pictures look like flash was used.

Bob Michaels,
Winogrand's son, Ethan is also a jazz musician. Plays Drums.

Cheers,
Gary
 
ChrisN said:
I've not seen the exhibition (and it's probably not coming to Canberra!) or the book but have found a few images on the web. I have a question - the images I've seen all appear to have been taken in a car with a sunroof, which help balance the exposure for the car interior as well as the outside world. Is true for all the photos? I was inspired by what I'd seen and have tried for a few similar images but my car lacks a sunroof and couldn'r achieve the same effect!
Click to expand...

He lit a lot of them with the flash he uses on the Superwide; you can see him doing it in a reflection in a couple of shots in the book. I think the book is well worth getting---I keep going back to it and finding something new.
 
DougFord said:
Those crackers look mighty tasty but how could he have forgotten to add a slice of salami to the mix?

youtube preview of the book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9aK-DtsWw0&
Click to expand...

I don't think any salami would have kept in the car for 3 days. You can see Lee's sense of humor in many of his pictures. Sometimes subtle, sometimes not.. i wish there was more of that kind of thing in the photo art world.. Winogrand did this too.
 
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