William Eggleston In Black and White by ROSEGALLERY

WILLIAM&EGGLESTON In&Black&and&White

ROSEGALLERY& is& pleased& to& announce& the& inaugural& exhibiBon& of& William& Eggleston& In& Black& and& White& at& Paris &Photo& L.A.& 2014.& William& Eggleston& is&indelibly& linked&to&the&validaBon&of& color& photography&as&a&fine&art& form& and&is&unquesBonably&one&of& the&greatest&influences &on& contemporary& photography& as& we& know& it.& Before& his& breakthrough& with& Kodachrome& in& the& early& 1970s,& Eggleston,& like& many& of& his& contemporaries,&made&pictures&in&black&and&white.&Recently,&the&arBst&revisited&his&archive,&fasBdiously&reviewing&thousands&of& black&and&white& negaBves&from&his&earliest&days&of&shooBng&pictures.&The&result&is&a &special&ediBon&of&contemporary&16&x& 20&inch&silver&gelaBn&prints.&Outside&of& Steidl’s&2010&monograph& William& Eggleston&Before& Color,& images&from&this &essenBal& Bme&in& Eggleston’s&career&have&been& largely& overlooked.& ROSEGALLERY& is& delighted& to& bring& this&rediscovered& body& of& work& to& light& during& Paris& Photo& L.A.& and& to& help& redefine& the& beginning& of& a& legendary&career. All&prints&are:&&UnBtled&1960Y1972&/&16&x&20&inch&Silver&GelaBn&Prints&/&From&a&limited&ediBon&of&7&numbered&and&7&le\er&examples&/&$25,000. Please&note:&Only&2&prints&of&each&image&are&available&for&acquisiAon.&The&remaining&prints&will&be&held&by&the&Eggleston&ArAsAc&Trust.

In&the&late&fiGies,&armed&with&his&Leica,&William&Eggleston&started&photographing&his&surroundings&in&black&and&white.&He&knew&he&could&take&“perfect&fake& CarAerLBressons”&but&quickly&realized&he&needed&to&turn&toward&the&contemporary.&As&he&told&his&friend&Stanley&Booth&in&1999:&“What&was&new&back&then& was&shopping&centers,&and&I&took&pictures&of& them”.&Thus&appeared&a&sort&of&typology&of& the&elements& of&the&“novel”&the&arAst&was&beginning&to&construct:& the&bars,&the&gas&staAons,&the&cars,&the&ghostly&figures&adriG&in&space,&but&also&the&ceilings,&the&everyday&objects,&the&drabness&and&the&derelicAon.&CarAerL Bresson’s& influence& may& be& detected&in& the& “postures& of& the& bodies,”& in& the& diagonal&lines& and& sophisAcated& composiAons,& but&the& closeLups& of& home& appliances&had&already&begun&to&appear&LLsinks,&ovens,&freezers,&and&even&foodLLvernacular&points&of&view&that&had&been&neglected&unAl&then.

The& black&and&white& work& that& he& pursued&for& a&Ame& alongside& his& color&images& is& extremely&original&and&embodies& the& audacity& with&which&the& pioneering& photographer& dared& to& view& the& mundane& objects& that& hold& no& interest& for& most& people:& this& is& what& has& famously& been& called& the& â&#x20AC;&#x153;democraAc&camera.â&#x20AC;?

“When&I&switched&from&black&and&white&to&color,&the&only&thing&that&changed&was&the&ﬁlm,”&said&the&photographer&in&1996.&“The&world&is&in&color.& And&there’s& nothing&we&can&do&about&that.”&Eggleston,& who&spent&nights& in&a&photography& lab&where& a&friend&worked,& watching&the&automaAc& processing&of&amateur&color&photographs,&says&he&learned&a&great&deal&from&there.&Fascinated&by&what&he&saw,&he&felt&that&with&good&equipment& and&the& experience& he&had&already&gained,&he&would&be& able& to&produce& excellent& work&in&color.& Thus& was& born&a&sort&of& tenacious&faith& in&his& future&experiments.

All&Excerpts&taken&from: William&Eggelston&From&Black&and&White&to&Color The&InvenAon&of&a&Language By&Agèns&Sire