How William Eggleston's photos went from loathed to loved
Posted March 21, 2017 11:51:45
It was supposed to be William Eggleston's moment — a big show of his photographic work was being held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Then the reviews came back.
"Eggleston's photographs strongly resemble the color slides made by the man next door; and his show at the Modern was the most hated show of the year," the New York Times wrote.
That was 1976.
Now, Eggleston is considered by some as the godfather of colour photography and his work is said to have inspired a new generation of photographers.
And more than 40 years after that scorching review, the National Gallery of Victoria has just opened Australia's first major exhibition devoted to the artist's work.
"At that point in time, most photographers who considered themselves artists worked in black and white," the NGV's photography curator Susan van Wyk told ABC News Breakfast.
"Eggleston broke with that."
The now-lauded American photographer first started experimenting with colour photography in the mid-1960s.
One of his favourite playgrounds was his home state of Tennessee, and his favoured subjects were family members and ordinary folk on the street. Many of them didn't even know they were being photographed.
"He is quite famous for only ever taking one image," Ms van Wyk said.
"So he frames everything, composes it in the camera, takes a single shot and that's it.
"And the reason why, he says, is if he took two pictures, [he'd] have to choose."
His stylistic, and somewhat voyeuristic, shots have a unique look and have inspired a number of influential filmmakers over the years.
Sofia Coppola said viewing Eggleston's work was like "having your breath taken away", and Ms van Wyk said you could also see his influence in filmmakers such as David Lynch and the Coen brothers.
"He's always found beauty in the banal and the ordinary," she said.
"We should care about William Eggleston because I think he's had an impact on so much of the of photography that we've seen since the '70s.
"And he has an ongoing influence, I believe, in the world of movies."
The exhibition of Eggleston's work is part of the NGV's festival of photography, which also features solo exhibitions by Bill Henson, Patrick Pound, Zoe Croggon and Ross Coulter.
The William Eggleston Portraits display runs until June 18.
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