The power of photography #26

Art / July 19, 2022 / Admin / 0

It’s the 26th^e online series episode by Peter Fetterman Gallery called the power of photography highlighting hope, peace and love in the world. We invite you to enjoy and reflect on these works during this time.

Elliott Erwitt
New York (Three Men in Tutu), 1956
© Elliott Erwitt

Of course, one needs comic relief in these times. I found some recently while watching the French Netflix series “Call My Agent”. It made me think of this brilliant photograph by Elliott Erwitt, one of the wittiest and most seriously intelligent photographers I have ever met. When I need to laugh, I look at this picture.

New York, like Los Angeles, is a magnet for anyone who dreams of breaking into the performing arts. Hundreds of thousands of aspiring actors stream in every day hoping to make it on Broadway or in the movies. For most, it will always be just a dream, but to survive before that success happens, they need to make a living. I don’t know what daily job these guys who escape to a bar have, but one can only imagine. But that thought has always amused me and engaged me in their efforts with the hope that their break will finally come for them.

Georges Dambier
1925-2011
Marie-Hélène and Le Poisson Rouge1957

Georges’ talent was recognized very early on by the talented Hélène Lazareff, founder of the French ELLE. She encouraged his ideas to take these glorious models to the streets of Paris, far from the normal stilted shots that emanated from the studio’s rigid sets. With his charm and his sense of humor, he brought them marvelous “performances” as if he were directing a film. He had a great sense of style and design and was truly the key photographer to emerge from this glorious era of French Elle. He made fashion fun and all the great models of the time wanted to work with him.

After retiring from photography, he left Paris to turn the family estate into a beautiful little hotel in the French countryside where he also succeeded, a fine coda to a busy and eventful career.

Steve McCurry
Dust storm, Rajasthan, India (vertical)1983 (printed in 2018)
© Steve McCurry / Courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery

I don’t know anyone with a greater wanderlust than Steve McCurry. He must be in the Guinness Book of World Records with more frequent flyer miles than any photographer in the history of the medium. I think he’s been to India over 80-90 times in his 40+ year career. He has always been drawn to the cacophony of sounds, colors and smells that make up Indian daily life.

He was working there at the height of the dry season and driving on a highway in Rajasthan when his taxi was forced to stop by a sudden dust storm. Through the window he saw a group of workers shielding themselves from the choking dust and just jumped out of the cabin like an automatic reflex and captured one of his most sought after images.

A fine example I think of “Chance favors the prepared mind”.

Brett Weston
Leaf and ferns, Hawaii1979
© Estate of Brett Weston/Courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery

After a long and successful career, Brett Weston spent his final years on the island of Hawaii. This island gave him one of the most fulfilling third acts in art history. The environment there gave him such strength and creative impetus to produce powerful work equal to other very fertile periods of his life. Nowhere is there a better example of this than in his 1979 image from “Leaf and Ferns.”

It just exudes energy and beauty. In his real life, Brett has stripped everything down to the bare essentials, even his living environment. One of the lessons he learned from his father so he could focus on his art without cluttering his life with too many unnecessary possessions or distractions. He had such a great eye for balancing shapes and light. Shooting in the field and printing in his darkroom occupied most of his long and creative life.

Gianni Berengo Gardin
Tuscany1958
© Gianni Berengo Gardin/Courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery

Yes, it’s true that Henri Cartier-Bresson held Gianni in high esteem and included him in his inaugural exhibition “My Hundred Favorite Photographs” when he opened his foundation in Paris in 2003, a year before Gianni died. Henry.

He wasn’t the only great photographer I’ve known who considers Gianni one of the greatest. Sebastiao Salgado, Elliott Erwitt, Ferdinando Scianna and Willy Ronis among many other greats expressed the same sentiment to me. To be held in such high esteem by so many of his fellow artists is indeed rare.

It’s easy to see why. His work spanning over 70 years is varied in scope and subject matter.
This beautiful human landscape with its mixture of light and shadow is so subtle in its composition and emanates such respect and love for the land and nature.

Rene Groebli
1927
Eye of Love #5321952

At 93, this dear René still exudes passion and energy for his favorite medium.

Her “magnum opus”, “L’Œil de l’amour” still resonates with as much power and tenderness 70 years later since the first photos were taken during her honeymoon in a small hotel in Paris with her beloved wife.

The pictures for my mind and eyes are up there with the photos of O’Keeffe by Stieglitz, the photos of Edward Weston by Charis Wilson and the photos of Eleanor by Harry Callahan. The woman as muse.
René’s photos show more than is objectively visible. He managed to capture the emotions, intimacy and love for his wife Rita. They are just heartbreakingly beautiful.

Pentti Sammallahti
Pyhäjärvi, Finland (horse and barn)1982
© Pentti Sammallahti/Courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery

In 1959, Pentti Sammallahti visited the famous “The Family of Man” exhibition at Helsinki Hall with his father and announced that he knew what he wanted to do with his life: to be a photographer. And that simple prescient statement has proven so true and we have the results of his prodigious talent to enjoy.

Pentti has created a treasure trove of photographic gems like this. I’ve never seen a picture that has so many exquisite layers of story telling it all in such perfect balance. It is a marvel to behold.

Sebastiao Salgado
1944
Nenet Nomads (Packing Sleigh) Southern Yamal Region, Siberia, Russia2011
© Sebastiao Salgado / Images from Amazonas / Courtesy of Peter Fetterman Gallery

Each of Salgado’s epic projects is meticulously researched for years by Sebastião and his wife Lelía before they set foot on location to shoot.

They discovered this group of Nenet nomads who survive by herding reindeer. It’s the coldest place in the world and I remember Sebastião telling me how he went to great lengths to have the warmest coat that could be scientifically custom-made to withstand the elements so so that he can carry out his project.

He arrives and it is incredibly cold. Beyond beliefs and expectations. He is shaking and cannot work. The Nenets see what is happening. Of course, no verbal communication, just a human connection. They cut him a reindeer coat like they wear it and voila it works and he can then work and he creates some of the most beautiful images found in the project. This image was produced large and was at the entrance to the presentation of ‘Genesis’ at the Science Museum in London where it was launched several years ago.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Tony Bennett sing lately. It simply transports me out of the current stresses and concerns. In fact, I listen to him sing “Fly me to the Moon” while I write these few words.

His mastery of the Great American Songbook is unmatched, and he led a long and interesting life. A man of great sensitivity to political concerns and human empathy, he also marched with Martin Luther King in Selma in the 1960s.

He was one of the last people Herman spoke to just before his death in 2010. Two giants, two great friends.

A truly rare and tender image in Klein’s work. Something I can really relate to as an emigrant to the United States. I remember the first time I took the Staten Island Ferry on my first visit to New York. A completely moving experience to see the vast sight of the city with all of its personal hopes and dreams laid out before you. In fact, I can’t wait to do it again.

Peter Fetterman Gallery
2525 Michigan Ave, #A1
Santa Monica, California 90404
http://www.peterfetterman.com

The Power of Photography is now a book published by ACC ART Books.

Peter Fetterman: The Power of Photography
ACC ART books
pages: 256 pages
Cut: 7.87″ x 9.06″
ISBN: 9781788841221
$45.00

https://www.accartbooks.com/us/book/the-power-of-photography/
www.accartbooks.com

photography, Power