William Eggleston

William Eggleston, born in Memphis, USA in 1939, has, for almost fifty years, photographed his fascination and disdoin for everyday American civilisation. His work focuses on what he sees as the captivating banality of the Southern states, where the desire, alienation and solitude of everyday life become extraordinary, thanks to his rare sense of detail.  Of course William Eggleston didn’t ‘invent’ color photography, as John Szarkowski once stated somewhat provocatively. But he did facilitate the breakthrough of color photography in the museum context. 

He aimed his camera at the seemingly banal aspects of everyday life and he pointedly ignored the ‘Decisive Moment’ of Henri Cartier-Bresson. In other words, in Eggleston’s pictures decidedly nothing happens. He is photographer of suspense. He activates the shutter release, it seems, before something happens – or afterwards. Overall his activity is, and he readily admits this, inspired more by snapshooters rather than the work of recognized masters of the camera. Eggleston considers his role to be that of a neutral observer. He carefully avoids implying and hierarchy in his picture. Every element plays a role. Nothing is emphasized in a special manner.

William Eggleston – a genius of photographic understatement. “He doesn’t try to hype what he sees”, as Richard B. Woodward once pointed out, “he photographs what’s there. what no one else would even think of looking at, and better than anyone else, he makes something out of almost nothing.”

William Eggleston portfolio:

[Slideshow]

 Official site: www.egglestontrust.com