boris_chan1 Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 If you need some rest and recuperation from the Eggleston thread lumbering ever onwards on the Philosophy forum, why not have a look at www.mitchepstein.net - some of the best color images you'll see anywhere. Click on "work" and move through the galleries.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_richardson Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 What a coincidence. I've just been looking through Family Business this evening. It's my second time through and it's even more emotional than the last time. I haven't seen much of his work before this but this one book is at the top of my list of current favorites. Get it, if you can afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_chan1 Posted July 29, 2004 Author Share Posted July 29, 2004 Sam, I'm not surprised you haven't seen much of his work before. He's the "sleeper" of modern American color, massively under exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich815 Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Not so thrilling to me. I guess not my cup of tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 "...massively under exposed." ============================= Boris... :p You should be PUNished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_richardson Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Boris, I wonder if the reason for his relative obscurity is that he lived outside of the country for so long. Didn't he spend most of his life in India and elsewhere? This kind of transforms his work into the dreaded 'travel photography' genre IMO. Thanks for bringing him up because he's a master regardless of his subject matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_chan1 Posted July 30, 2004 Author Share Posted July 30, 2004 Sam, you think that simply by working outside of the USA your work becomes "travel photography"? Epstein is about as far removed from the vacuities of McCurry-esque "travelogue" as you can possibly get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akochanowski Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 Try "The City", it's an intelligent take on street photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_richardson Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 No, I don't think that Boris, but Epstein went to live in cultures that are 180 degrees from the European-based culture that we both belong to. A culture that I can't relate to as there's little in common in either the habits or appearance of the people, their clothing and architecture. In that situation how can it not resemble 'travel photography', at least superficially? It makes it more difficult to delve deeper into the lives of the people when they and their surroundings look so exotic. I'm not saying that Epstein is as cliched as most travel photographers but if I were to be looking for serious art photography I would pass by a book on India or Vietnam because I know that it will inevitably contain photos of old women squatting in rice paddies. It's too predictable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris_chan1 Posted July 30, 2004 Author Share Posted July 30, 2004 ".......cultures that are 180 degrees from the European-based culture.......A culture that I can't relate to as there's little in common........" Sam, I think you're revealing more about yourself than you are about the issues relating to photographing other cultures. I've no idea where you live, or where you grew up, but just about every major city I've spent any time in is multicultural - you don't have to travel to Asia to find the "exotic". Does this cut in both directions for you? When, say, Chien-Chi Chang (originally from Taiwan) photographs in NY or Seattle does his work also become merely "travel photography"? "........if I were looking for serious art photography I would pass by a book on India or Vietnam because.......it will......contain photos of old women squatting in rice paddies. It's too predictable." You're going to miss out on a lot of interesting work if you choose your books on subject matter rather than quality. Steve McCurry seems to have a lot to answer for if his laboured cliches are putting people off all work produced in Asia. I'll second A's verdict on "The City" as a really strong, and contemporary, take on street photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_richardson Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Boris there's more to a country and culture than it's major cities. Major cities have always been multicultural, everybody knows that. Throughout history they have been the major hubs of global interchange. Maybe you've never lived in anything other than major cities where the influence of the outside is minimal. I think you're misinterpreting what I'm saying. You mentioned that he's been overlooked, which to me means that he's been overlooked in the west. I'm saying that perhaps it's that his books (which is how we see his work) have been centered on cultures that we commonly associate with travel photography....in the west that is. They get pigeonholed to a certain extent. It's just a thought. Dont' read too much into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 <i>Steve McCurry seems to have a lot to answer for if his laboured cliches are putting people off all work produced in Asia.</i><p>I think that is a little unfair on Steve McCurry. Sam's blinkeredness is down to Sam, no one else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_richardson Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Meaning what Dancing Barefoot? What's wrong with my comments on this matter? Boris posed a question and I gave him my answer. Why not contribute to it instead of just making insults. Put your dislike of me to the side for one moment and give your best reason why Mitch Epstein has been overlooked. Do you think that he has been overlooked? If so then why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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