William Eggleston
© Photo: Justyna Fedec. Courtesy of David Zwirner
William Eggleston, a titan of photography and a quintessential southern gentleman, took London by quiet storm last Thursday. For 2 ¼, his new show at David Zwirner Gallery, Eggleston showed a series of lushly coloured, rigourously composed, square-format colour photographs from the 1970s. The crowd parted at the arrival of the dapper 79-year-old at the private view who was supported on his silver-topped cane and sporting his trademark untied silk bow-tie. He arrived to inspect the recently reprinted larger versions of images of the cars, parking lots, individuals and family businesses that he had taken on a 2.25-inch medium-format camera more than four decades ago.
The next day there was even more of a throng at his 2 ¼ book signing with crowds snaking down the stairs and out into the street from the first-floor galleries. Here, armed with a pen and a pack of American Spirit cigarettes, Eggleston delivered signatures and—for a lucky few—some memorable utterings. “Red, theres a lot of power in red. Just a dab, thats all you need,” he intoned, while flicking through the pages of the 2 ¼ catalogue and alighting on an image of a vivid scarlet truck. We should of course not forget that arguably Eggleston's most famous photograph is of a single light bulb dangling from a livid red ceiling. Then, when asked why he never captioned his photographs, he replied: "Words and photographs don't mix. You cannot express the meaning of a photograph in words.”
The queue at David Zwirner Gallery
© Photo: Justyna Fedec. Courtesy of David Zwirner
Mr Eggleston was happy to sign books, posters, memorabilia, individual cameras and copieRead More – Source
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