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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