Harry Callahan

Anyone familiar with his work? I saw the same titled book in the

store and there were some fascinating b/w prints. His NY scenes were

intriguing to say the least.

ok, I have found a link to his work..

 

http://www.geh.org/ne/str085/htmlsrc9/callahan_sld00001.html

Callahan's photos of his wife and daughter and his landscapes are some of my favorites. I've not seen much of his street photography outside those in the book you mentioned. His multiple exposures and other experiments don't do much for me.

A good old Detroit boy I believe.

wasn't harry callahan a cop??? "dirty harry" with clint eastwood was a movie based on him.

Travis

 

I love his work - as stated above his family shots are great. I like his street shots too particularly his MF or LF shots in the late 40s and early 50s.

I am also a fan of his work and have a book of his photos (the one published by National Gallery of Art). His constant striving for new ways of seeing and experimentation are inspirational; he was always thinking about what he was conveying or trying to convey. At different times I have preferred his high contrast work, or the portraits of his wife, those street shots taken with 135mm of women lost in thought. There seems to be something very deliberate and intense about many of his photographs, as though he has worked hard to achieve the end result. As a result, there is little sense of the spontaneity of life, which for some is a bit of a turn off. I think he is one of those photographers whose work you do not have to like, but can always appreciate and should definitely see if you have the chance.

Yeah, I believe Harry Callahan's major contributions to human culture were the expressions "Well do ya feel lucky, punk?", "A man's got to know his limitations" and of course "Go ahead, make my day".

Years ago at the Detroit Institute of Arts there was a Callahan show. What struck me, given the on-going conversations about print sizes, was how small his pictures were. Probably 5x7 and they were exquisite...jewel-like with great long shadows and they just sucked you into his world. Wonderful stuff!

Callahan was a master. The National Gallery collection is a beautiful book. The 1980 publication, "Color", is awesome. It's one of my treasures. Cityscapes, landscapes, street shots, portraits--especially of his family--he did them all as well as anyone has. An unassuming guy who was a master of his craft.

"Eleanor, Lake Michigan, 1949" my favourite photo by one of my favourite photographers. I'm not normally fond of double exposures but his in the Eleanor book are terrific. Eleanor was a real woman, with actual hips and breasts, and he photographed her nude for many years. I don't know of any other major photographer who took nudes with women over 25. [Well there's Les Krims' mother, but jeez...]

Harry Callahan taught at the Rhode Island Inst. of Design. for many, many

years. He was a giant in his type of photography. Why don't you "morlocks"

learn about the art and history of photography before mouthing off your

stupidity. cb P.S. I have never seen a worse bunch of "Yahoos" as you jerks. I

am very tired of the the monkey squeals and blanted dumness of the so called

Leica group. Get a education

Harry Callahan taught at the Rhode Island Inst. of Design. for many, many

years. He was a giant in his type of photography. Why don't you "morlocks"

learn about the art and history of photography before mouthing off your

stupidity. cb P.S. I have never seen a worse bunch of "Yahoos" as you jerks. I

am very tired of the the monkey squeals and blanted dumbness of the so

called Leica group. Get a education

Thanks, Mr. Buffamanti. Your educated answer tought me very effectively whose name to skip in the site so as to make a more effective use of my time.

 

Best regards.

 

-Iván

<<<a education>>>

 

Educated people say "an education."

Chas: I have "a education" and I learned in the early stages of it not to name call and generalise about people and things you don't know very well. The culprit here would be the scriptwriter for the Dirty Harry movies anyway. [i knew a fellow who studied under Harry at R.I. and he was known to enjoy a snort or two; I wonder if Chas.' computer and keyboard are in a corner of the wine cellar?]

"Why don't you "morlocks" learn about the art and history of photography before mouthing off your stupidity."

 

Strange words from someone who did not know the great photographer Elliott Erwitt in a recent thread.

Does he shoot for Magnum..?

Interesting progression: a good, serious question leads to a few too many jokes which then turns to pure hostility.

 

Travis, also check out Aaron Siskind. They worked together at Rhode Island Institute but had very different styles. Harry Callahan was a public school teacher until he broke into serious photography. Good fine art photographers often need to work for a living too.

One of the quiet masters of photography. Chronology:

Born 1912, Detroit, Michigan.

Early 1930s, briefly attended Michigan State College.

Worked for Chrysler Motor Parts Corp.

1936 married Eleanor.

1938 committed hobbyist with no formal training. Shot with a rolleicord. Later shot all formats including a Blad 38mm of ocean beach predating Richard Misrach.

1940 Joined Detroit Photo Guild with Todd Webb.

1941 influenced by Ansel Adams whose lecture he attended.

1944 -45 worked in GM photo lab. Experimented with color.

1946 joined staff of Chicago Institute of Design. Resided in Chicago for next 15 years.

1948 1st show at Museum of Modern Art.

1949 Photography Dept Head at The Institute of Design. In early 50s Harry hires Aaron Siskind.

1961 resigned from Ill Institute of Design to head the Rhode Island School of Design.

Retired in 1973.

Died 1999.

 

 

Callahan vision is discribed as formal, cool, quiet, graceful & calligraphic. He tried multiple exposures, early user of color slide film, known tasteful nudes of Eleanor, graphic images of weeds and shapes, flat wall details, wires against the sky, city pedestrians lost to themselves. Callahan was an innovative spirit reflecting the Institute of Design values.