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William Eggleston

Donna M. De Salvo

William Eggleston: Democratic Camera, Photographs and Video, 1961-2008 Hardcover – December 2, 2008

by Elisabeth Sussman (Author), Thomas Weski (Author), Tina Kukielski (Contributor),

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Elvis’s Graceland, a freezer stuffed with food, a Gulf gasoline sign standing in a deserted rural landscape—these are only a few of the iconic images captured by the “democratic camera” of photographer William Eggleston. Not only has he drawn upon images so telling of American culture, he has produced them with an intensity and balance of color that have helped elevate the entire field of color photography to a fine art, especially since his 1976 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

Drawing together Eggleston’s famous and lesser-known works, this lavishly illustrated catalogue is the first to examine both his photography and videos. Of particular relevance are his black-and-white images from the late 1950s and 1960s, which helped shape his color photography, as well as the relationship between his provocative video recordings of 1970s Memphis nightlife and his later work. Included are reproductions of newly restored prints, executed specifically for the exhibition.

Filled with new and challenging contributions to scholarship and accompanying the first major U.S. survey of his work, this catalogue will prove the standard reference for Eggleston’s photographs for years to come.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

The Whitney Museum of American Art
Publication date

December 2, 2008
Dimensions

9.75 x 1.25 x 11.5 inches
ISBN-10

0300126212
ISBN-13

978-0300126211
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Besides more than 134 plates, this invaluable retrospective contains stills from Eggleston's cinema verité videotape Stranded in Canton and six cogent, jargon-free essays, the best by Eggleston's longtime writer friend, Stanley Booth."—Booklist (Booklist 2008-12-15)

"Some of the images—an oven interior, shower stall, ceiling with electrical cords and light bulb—are classics. But this catalog . . . goes back to Eggleston's black-and-white work and extends to videos, becoming the most comprehensive volume on a master it's impossible to overrate."—Alan G. Artner, Chicago Tribune (Alan G. Artner Chicago Tribune 2008-12-28)

About the Author

Elisabeth Sussman is curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography, Whitney Museum of American Art, and editor of Gordon Matta-Clark: “You Are the Measure.” Thomas Weski is chief curator of the Haus der Kunst, Munich. Tina Kukielski is senior curatorial assistant, Whitney Museum of American Art. Stanley Booth is an independent music critic and writer. Donna De Salvo is chief curator and associate director of programs, Whitney Museum of American Art, and coeditor of Lawrence Weiner: AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Whitney Museum of American Art; First Edition (December 2, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0300126212
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300126211
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.75 x 1.25 x 11.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,057 in Individual Photographers
- #9,506 in Individual Artists (Books)

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A photographerTop Contributor: Photography

We've seen almost all of these before

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 10, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is a rehash of Eggleston's work that has previously been presented in other monographs and exhibition catalogs over the years. As such, there's nothing much new here. Reproduction varies with some details from individual pictures presented across the gutter--a practice I find distasteful. The articles accompanying the exhibit also vary considerably. Those of us who are familiar with Eggleston's body of work will find nothing particularly insightful here but the book is useful for those just getting acquainted with his style. His best published work remains "Los Alamos", "Guide", "The Democratic Forest" and a couple of others but virtually all Eggleston books are worth at least 4 stars. Now out of print--buy used.

2 people found this helpful

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Raymond Elstad

Most Excellent

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 7, 2009

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I read in the New Yorker that Eggleston was having a retrospective at the Whitney and immediatly went on line to see if there was a catalogue. There was and I now have it and am happy that I do. His iconic images are here of course as well as many that I've never seen before. A wonderful collection of his work and one that I will share with my photo students at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA.

5 people found this helpful

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Matt Barnett

Why you should buy this book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 6, 2022

This is probably my best find at a Half Price Bookstore ... ever.

I'll keep this review short and simple. Why you should buy this book:

- It's a great overall view of Eggleston's work.
-It contains the entire classic "Eggleston's Guide." (If you know, you know).
-It's a manageable book to hold and browse through.
-It contains examples of Eggleston's black and white work.
-Plenty of good essays.

Obviously Steidl books are large and the prints are GORGEOUS. So don't expect this book to be of Steidl quality, but the quality is still great. The trade-off on this book vs. Steidl is the hand-held manageability. Steidl books are better for table reading/browsing.

Buy this book!

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D. Craig

Book is very heavy, but balances the items on the shelf nicely.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 25, 2018

Verified Purchase

The artist here is not William Eggleston, but rather the person(s) who wrote profound statements elevating his photographs to art status.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

Great book at great price - Thank you!

One person found this helpful

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H. Domke

My favorite photo book of 2008

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 26, 2008

Sum: My favorite photo book of 2008

Pros:
* 227 Eggleston prints in vibrant color - I'm tempted to frame some.
* This large well-crafted hardbound book is a bargain at $40

Cons:
* Ugly cover
* 14-pages of the book cover a video from 1974 that has nothing to do with his main body of work.
* Erratic writing quality by 5 authors (why so many writers?)

Better writing about Eggleston can be found in the New Yorker. My favorite art critic Peter Schjeldahl writes:

"You can always tell a William Eggleston photograph. It's the one in color that hits you in the face and leaves you confused and happy, and perhaps convinces you that you don't understand photography nearly as well as you thought you did."

"He shoots like a shutterbug and executes like a painter."

In case you are wondering about the the use of the word "Democratic" in the title, it has notthing to do with politics. Instead it has to do with the way Eggleston picks the subjects he photographs. "I had this notion of what I called a democratic way of looking around: that nothing was more important or less important."

20 people found this helpful

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D. Butterfield

good monograph, interesting essays

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2012

If you don't already own Egg's earlier books like Los Alamos and Guide, this is the best overview available. I wish I'd been able to see the Whitney show this catalog represents. The reproduction of Democratic Camera is good but nothing compares to a dye transfer print. Some of the reviews here don't like the essays in the book. I liked some of them, especially Stanley Booth, whose Memphis hipster credentials are top shelf. I also own the Stranded in Canton video/DVD/book. Some of the still frames from this are in Democratic Camera but, for me, the video is a priceless, exceedingly strange, black and white dream that the still frames merely hint at. I am a career video cameraman and my first experience with the medium was with the same Sony Portapack reel-to-reel recorder/camera combo in 1972. I appreciate how far Eggleston went to adapt this early technology-- fast lenses combined with infrared vidicon imaging tubes, shooting in virtual darkness with the tip of a lit cigaret illuminating a face. Combined with the strange characters and locales Egg preferred, the video stands alone as an original major art form. I like Democratic Camera a lot and recommend it. Eggleston is a genius, a drunken genius who's not afraid to get down in the gutter and party with the back street low life city folk, then start all over the next day with his countrified aristocratic cousins in North Mississippi.

One person found this helpful

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Wose

Nice Overview

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 16, 2009

This is sort of a general reader or introduction to William Eggleston's photography meant to accompany the retrospective exhibition. Hopefully seeing some of the images in here will wet your appetite to look further into his work and pick up some of his classic books like Eggleston's Guide. None of the images from Paris are in here.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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andres

awesome

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on February 11, 2016

Verified Purchase

great book of one of the best color photographers in the history! plenty of beautiful images, most of them I knew but the edition is wonderful

Ragot Florian

Eggleston best of

Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on January 17, 2014

Verified Purchase

If you appreciate Eggleston's work but have very few books on him or just don't have any, this is the one book you will need. A full view on his greatests photographic achievements in all his series. And a good interview at the end of the book, which is rather rare.

One person found this helpful

C. Brunner

Guter Kauf!

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on October 27, 2015

Verified Purchase

Das Buch stellt eine sehr schöne Übersicht über William Egglestones Werk dar. Das Cover find ich persönlich nicht so ansprechend.

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