American Photographs: 75 Years On

Photographer Walker Evans is best known for his images depicting the Great Depression. In the summer of 1936, he and writer James Agee spent eight weeks in the “Dust Bowl” of the American South, and many of the images he took that year are now iconic; although the article he and Agee were sent to write never came about, the work they did formed the basis of the book “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”, and many were included in the 1938 “Walker Evans: American Photographs” exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.

This was a groundbreaking exhibition; it was the first time that the museum had devoted an exhibition entirely to the work of a single photographer. Other new conventions were formed around this exhibition – in the book that accompanied it, a declaration at the front informed readers that the pictures were intended to be looked at in their given sequence; this was a new idea, that there was not just art in the individual pictures but in the sequence of a group of pictures, too.

That book was instrumental in gaining acceptance for photography as a bona fide art form, as well as giving rise to the modern photography art book. It is now available in its fifth edition, to coincide with the current 75^th anniversary of the original exhibition and a new exhibition of American Photographs at the MoMA.

Evan’s work has been influential not just in the field of photography but beyond, inspiring literature, film and all kinds of visual arts. “Photography isn’t a matter of taking pictures,” he said. “It’s a matter of having an eye.”

Of course, the camera helps. If you’re thinking of upgrading your camera to a better model, the Camera Exchange Store is an excellent place to sell used Nikon cameras, as well as other makes, and with the cash you receive you could upgrade and – who knows – perhaps you could have your own exhibition at the MoMA one day.

Walker Evans American Photographs at The Museum of Modern Art in New York runs until the 26^th January 2014.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 9th, 2013 at 8:35 am and is filed under Creative Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.