William Eggleston: The Democratic Forest
Selected Works
Publisher: David Zwirner Books | Steidl
Publication Date: 2016
Text by Alexander Nemerov
Over the course of nearly six decades, William Eggleston—often referred to as the “father of color photography”—has established a singular pictorial style that deftly combines vernacular subject matter with an innate and sophisticated understanding of color, form, and composition.
Eggleston has said, “I am at war with the obvious.” His photographs transform the ordinary into distinctive, poetic images that eschew fixed meaning. Though criticized at the time, his now legendary 1976 solo exhibition, organized by the visionary curator John Szarkowski at The Museum of Modern Art, New York—the first presentation of color photography at the museum—heralded an important moment in the medium's acceptance within the art-historical canon and solidified Eggleston's position in the pantheon of the greats alongside Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, and Walker Evans.
Published on the occasion of David Zwirner's New York exhibition of selections from The Democratic Forest in the fall of 2016, this new catalogue highlights over sixty exceptional images from Eggleston's epic project. His photography is “democratic” in its resistance to hierarchy where, as noted by the artist, “no particular subject is more or less important than another.”
Featuring original scholarship by Alexander Nemerov, this notable presentation of The Democratic Forest provides historical context for a monumental body of work, while offering newcomers a foothold in Eggleston\s photographic practice.
Details
Publisher: David Zwirner Books | Steidl
Artist: William Eggleston
Contributors: Alexander Nemerov
Publication Date: 2016
ISBN: 9781941701423
Retail: $55 | £38 | €52
Status: Not Available
Designer: Katy Homans
Printer: Steidl, Göttingen, Germany
Binding: Hardcover
Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 12 1/4 in (29.8 x 31.1 cm)
Pages: 120
Reproductions: 73 color
Artist and Contributors
William Eggleston
Over the course of nearly six decades, William Eggleston (b. 1939) has established a singular pictorial style that deftly combines vernacular subject matter with an innate and sophisticated understanding of color, form, and composition. His photographs transform the ordinary into distinctive, poetic images that eschew fixed meaning. One of the medium’s foremost practitioners to date, Eggleston’s work continues to exert an influence on contemporary visual culture at large.
Alexander Nemerov
Alexander Nemerov is department chair and the Carl and Marilynn Thoma Provostial Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Stanford University. Prior to joining Stanford, he was a professor of art history and American studies at Yale University. He has published several books and articles pertaining to the culture of American art dating from the eighteenth century to the 1970s. His writing often analyzes fiction and poetry alongside works of visual art.
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