William Eggleston

Did anybody watch the "Imagine .. " program on BBC2 last night? If so, can they tell me why so many people were eulogising about Egggleston? Not one said anything bad about him. What was so good about an image of a red ceiling or the contents of a rubbish bin? Am I missing something? I only saw half the program but not once did I see him adjust the aperture or set the shutter speed!!!!

Is this heresy?

So please educate me, I must be ignorant in these matters

Thanks.

Howard

I did catch some of the program and it first I thought along the same lines but have a look as some of his images and there is no doubt he has an excellent eye for composition.

His images are interesting and thought provoking (OK not all but many are) The shear volume of his 'snapping' for want of a better word was amazing.
A strange character though..........

just a few thoughts

Did anyone notice whether he was shooting Pentax, Canon or Nikon?

I like his stuff, very much.

Ah well there you go.... Leica I think

I didn't see the programme but I love his red ceiling. It is a great composition that most people wouldn't even have looked twice at.

Some of his images are great, he has an ability to take the ordinary and turn it into something special. He has a great eye for colour and the absurd. He was one of the first adopters of colour photography and the first to make it an acceptable art form. The fact that one of his heroes was Cartier Bresson means he can't be all bad, and explains a lot I think.

From the Flickr forum:

so take your pick

I caught some of it with the missus. Unfortunately, it undid a lot of my hard work for the last year about "serious" photography versus snaps, as he was clearly just a snapper. And frankly most of what I saw I felt was rubbish and couldn't defend it! One of the interviewees (a youngish chap) was talking such twaddle it was embarrassing - there's a column in Private Eye reserved for this stuff.

Maybe if I looked at a proper collection of his stuff I may change my mind, but we turned over before my LBA funds could be hurt any more...

Tony

Ah! TBH the point I was making is that his style could be achieved with any sort of kit... disposable camera even, although that wouldn't work too well blown up for an exhibition.

There's something to be said for all styles of photography, whether it aspires to be taken seriously as an artform, or grace the front of the Countryfile calendar. I wouldn't want to be dismissive, as at least he - and others such as Martin Parr - is making us look at mundane subjects in a new way.

Tony, you are so self centred

I suppose the main problem I had was all the praise being heaped on him. My wife's only actual comment was "Emporer's New Clothes" and I couldn't find a riposte...

Perhaps you might try opening your eyes, your brain and your heart.

You could use the Emperors new clothes line about so much stuff though.

I wasn't really aware of him, but after looking at more of his shots he seems to create slightly unnerving dream-like images out of everyday subject matter...link

Maybe it's not for everyone but it certainly gets me excited.

I thought I was going to get into trouble here! Gartmore - I do try to be open-minded when it comes to art, and having spent a few minutes checking his pictures on the web there are definitely some that appeal. And I don't mean to be critical of other people's tastes. I think the main problem I had was this whole edifice that was built around him and the way interviewees spoke of his work - too pretentious for me!

When I've got a few minutes I promise to delve into his body of work - and I promise to have eyes, brain and heart fully engaged!!

If you really want to know what a picture is worth as a piece of art, show it to a kid, and watch his face. Kids don't lie about those things.

That's a nice idea, Yves. And I am sure many kids would enjoy the boldness of some of Eggleton's images, and how they stimulate the imagination.

But I am not entirely convinced, cos by your method, any picture featuring a shark or a gross dead body with its guts hanging out would instantly be 'art', if I remember my own tastes from childhood (yeah and much of my adulthood too!)