William Eggleston

William Eggleston is considered the father of color Fine Art photography and his mature work is characterized by its ordinary subject-matter. As Eudora Welty noted in her introduction to The Democratic Forest, an Eggleston photograph might include "old tyres, Dr Pepper machines, discarded air-conditioners, vending machines, empty and dirty Coca-Cola bottles, torn posters, power poles and power wires, street barricades, one-way signs, detour signs, No Parking signs, parking meters and palm trees crowding the same curb." Eggleston has a unique ability to find beauty, and striking displays of color, in ordinary scenes. A dog trotting toward the camera; a Moose lodge; a woman standing by a rural road; a row of country mailboxes; a convenience store; the lobby of a Krystal fast-food restaurant -- all of these ordinary scenes take on new significance in the rich colors of Eggleston's photographs.
John Szarkowski, infamous curator at Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York (MOMA), championed Eggleston and gave him the first one-person exhibition of color photographs in the history of MOMA.

This short video is interesting and allows you to get into the mind of a man that has been so influentual in 20th century photography.


Some Additional Resources:

• William Eggleston at the Whitney Museum.
• A biography of the artist William Eggleston from the J. Paul Getty Museum.
• The Eggleston Trust's website offers extensive information on the artist, including a gallery of his works.
• William Eggleston in the Real World - recent documentary on Eggleston