William Eggleston

there's always some battle for acceptance going on in the art world when it comes to photography.

initially, the worryworts were sure that the photograph would make painting obsolete, but if anything it pushed and inspired painters to experiment with new forms of expression (ie cubism, abstraction, etc) and new compositions, cropping and framing.

in turn photographers wanted to be taken seriously in the art world and had to fight for their place on the gallery/museum wall.

at first it was the pictorialists and their photographs made to look like paintings.

then in the 30's and 40's straight photography made it's play. paul strand lead the avant garde photographers, who wanted their photographs to look like photographs. now they would be art because the eye of the photographer had composed the shot to be art. 

by the 70's the battle was over color. could a color photo be fine art? william eggleston was one of the first photographers to be accepted into that exclusive world and prove that, yes indeed color photos could be more then simple snapshots.

i love eggleston's vision of his home, the people and places that make up his world. and especially his use of color. eggleston is an artist. artists are weirdos. show me a great artist who isn't a weirdo. i dare you.  there is an interesting documentary on him, a website, lots of articles. here are some of my favorites...