Customer Reviews

W. Eugene Smith (Aperture Masters of Photography)

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Eugene Smith was one of the greatest photographers of the Twentieth Century. He worked as a photojournalist from the 1930's until the 1970's. Smith was able to elevate his photographs from the realm of journalism into high art. His best photographs use the contrasting effect of light and dark in the chiaroscuro tradition of Spanish Master, Francisco Zurbaran.

This volume is part of Aperture Masters of Photography Series. At under ten dollars, there is no better introduction one can find on the life and work of Eugene Smith. The publisher of this volume is Koneman, a German company well known for the high quality of its productions. This book is a good value and is highly recommended.

If you are interested in photography and want to see a good introduction on an excellent photographer, buy this book. The Aperture edition has most of Smith's important pictures and discusses his personal/professional dilemma, which generally should be read very critically in art books, which informs us of the tension in the photographer, which is the important element of good photojournalism. In photojournalism, the tension should be the informing pointer as to what is going on in the picture.

Smith is one of the most important photographers from the 20th century. His influence was great and his work on the photo-essay is defining (e.g. his Life magazine essay on Dr. Ceriani in 1948). His most memorable photo was of Tomoko Uemura with her son in 1972).

Other 20th century photographers you may want to discover or learn from are: Eugene Atget (late-19th/early 20th C), who documented Paris for artists, but whose work influenced the existential air of 20th century photography; Alfred Eisenstadt (mid-late 20th C), who, in my opinion, was the father of modern photo-journalism; and Mary Ellen Mark (late-20th C), who captured the zeitgeist of late-20th century better than most photographers, who tended to project meaning onto their subjects, rather than receive them as Mark was and is so adept at doing.

Of the many photo books on the shelves, this one is worth your time and money.

This is a great introduction to one of the most outstanding photographers of all time. The author obviously understands Smith's genious!!