William Eggleston s’est fait un nom avec ses compositions excentriques et inattendues de la vie quotidienne qui regorgeaient néanmoins de récits implicites, élevant le banal à l’art. Ce livre somptueusement illustré présente les portraits magistraux d’Eggleston, dont la première photographie couleur de l’artiste – une étude d’un jeune employé poussant des caddies dans un supermarché – de sa série Los Alamos. Il existe de nombreuses autres images familières et aimées ainsi que des photographies inédites de sa longue et productive carrière.
De nombreuses photographies poétiques d’Eggleston illustrent la vie dans son État natal du Tennessee et les personnes qu’il y a rencontrées. Eggleston a fréquenté la scène des clubs de Memphis des années 1970, où il a rencontré, s’est lié d’amitié et a photographié des musiciens tels que ses collègues sudistes Alex Chilton et Ike Turner. Il a également photographié des célébrités telles que Dennis Hopper, Walter Hopps et Eudora Welty, et est devenu un incontournable de la scène de l’usine d’Andy Warhol, en fréquentant le protégé de Warhol Viva. Au cours du dernier demi-siècle, il a créé un ensemble d’œuvres puissantes et durables mettant en vedette des amis et de la famille, des musiciens, des artistes et des étrangers. Outre les somptueuses reproductions des portraits d’Eggleston, ce volume comprend un essai et une chronologie, ainsi qu’une interview d’Eggleston et des membres de sa famille proche qui donne de nouvelles perspectives sur ses images et son processus artistique.
Phillip Prodger est responsable de la photographie à la National Portrait Gallery de Londres.
“So many people take those simple snapshots of life, but there’s something about Eggleston that no one can match.” —Sofia Coppola
EXHIBITION :
– National Portrait Gallery, London (07/21/16–10/23/16)
– NGV International, Melbourne (03/17/17–06/18/17)
The eminent American photographer William Eggleston (b. 1939) was a pioneer in exploring the artistic potential of color photography. Eggleston made a name for himself with his eccentric, unexpected compositions of everyday life that were nonetheless rife with implied narrative, elevating the commonplace to art. This sumptuously illustrated book features Eggleston’s masterful portraits, including the artist’s first color photograph—a study of a young clerk pushing shopping carts at a supermarket—from his Los Alamos series. There are many other familiar and beloved images as well as some previously unseen photographs from his long and productive career.
Many of Eggleston’s poetic photographs portray life in his home state of Tennessee, and the people he encountered there. Eggleston frequented the 1970s Memphis club scene, where he met, befriended, and photographed musicians such as fellow Southerners Alex Chilton and Ike Turner. He also photographed celebrities including Dennis Hopper, Walter Hopps, and Eudora Welty, and became a fixture of Andy Warhol’s Factory scene, dating the Warhol protégé Viva. Over the past half century, he has created a powerful and enduring body of work featuring friends and family, musicians, artists, and strangers. In addition to the lavish reproductions of Eggleston’s portraits, this volume includes an essay and chronology, plus an interview with Eggleston and his close family members that gives new insights into his images and artistic process.
Phillip Prodger is head of photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
