Elisabeth Sussman, William Eggleston: Democratic Camera

Elisabeth Sussman

William Eggleston: Democratic Camera

Photographs and Video, 1961-2008 (Whitney Museum of American Art)

Orange cloth boards with black titles on the spine. Illustrated dust jacket. Catalogue published on the occasion of the Exhibition entitled "William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photography and Video, 1961-2008" at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York 2008-2009 and Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2009, as well as at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 2009, the Art Institute of Chicago, 2010 and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2010-2011. A major retrospective of Eggleston's work, including black and white and colour photos taken in the US and Europe, notably Munich.

Elvis's Graceland, a freezer stuffed with food, a Gulf gasoline sign standing in a deserted rural landscape--these are only a few of the iconic images captured by the democratic camera of photographer William Eggleston. Not only has he drawn upon images so telling of American culture, he has produced them with an intensity and balance of color that have helped elevate the entire field of color photography to a fine art, especially since his 1976 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.Drawing together Eggleston's famous and lesser-known works, this lavishly illustrated catalogue is the first to examine both his photography and videos. Of particular relevance are his black-and-white images from the late 1950s and 1960s, which helped shape his color photography, as well as the relationship between his provocative video recordings of 1970s Memphis nightlife and his later work. Included are reproductions of newly restored prints, executed specifically for the exhibition.Filled with new and challenging contributions to scholarship and accompanying the first major U.S. survey of his work, this catalogue will prove the standard reference for Eggleston's photographs for years to come.