I visited the Winogrand exhibition at the National Gallery in DC that I mentioned a while back. It opened at the weekend. If you're in DC it's a must see; if you're not in DC it might well be worth your while heading down to see it.
First, my confession. I've never been that fussed by Winogrand. The standard NY street shots that usually accompanied pieces about him online were interesting enough but never really grabbed me. I'll also confess that not having been impressed by the headline shots I never bother digging any deeper. I have to say that after visiting the exhibition I'm a convert - his best work in the exhibition is outstanding, most of the rest is not far off and there are only a handful of duds.
The exhibition works because it frees him from the constraints of being a 'New York street photographer' and demonstrates a much broader range of subject matter, styles, and geographical range. (And his NY street photography, while including the standards, has many more, much better images). There's also a 15 minute video with excerpts from a Q$A session he did at a University. Takeaway quote: 'photographic technique is easy...photography is a very forgiving process'. (I'm paraphrasing slightly).
There are 5 (or possibly 6) rooms of images - around 160 in all, of which around 60 have been printed for public display for the first time. A handful of these are from films that Winogrand never developed so even he didn't see them. Others are from contact sheets that Winogrand had marked but never printed.
There is of course a very substantial book to go along with the exhibition. About 450 pages, about 450 images. $85 for the hardback, $50 for the paperback.
The exhibition is on until June 8 so there's plenty of time. More on the NGA website.
First, my confession. I've never been that fussed by Winogrand. The standard NY street shots that usually accompanied pieces about him online were interesting enough but never really grabbed me. I'll also confess that not having been impressed by the headline shots I never bother digging any deeper. I have to say that after visiting the exhibition I'm a convert - his best work in the exhibition is outstanding, most of the rest is not far off and there are only a handful of duds.
The exhibition works because it frees him from the constraints of being a 'New York street photographer' and demonstrates a much broader range of subject matter, styles, and geographical range. (And his NY street photography, while including the standards, has many more, much better images). There's also a 15 minute video with excerpts from a Q$A session he did at a University. Takeaway quote: 'photographic technique is easy...photography is a very forgiving process'. (I'm paraphrasing slightly).
There are 5 (or possibly 6) rooms of images - around 160 in all, of which around 60 have been printed for public display for the first time. A handful of these are from films that Winogrand never developed so even he didn't see them. Others are from contact sheets that Winogrand had marked but never printed.
There is of course a very substantial book to go along with the exhibition. About 450 pages, about 450 images. $85 for the hardback, $50 for the paperback.
The exhibition is on until June 8 so there's plenty of time. More on the NGA website.