Lee Friedlander @ MOMA in NYC

[jorn ake]

Saw the Friedlander show. Excellent. Looking at the width and breadth

of the show, I was interested to find how frequently he actually used

fill flash to subtly separate out his foreground objects from those in

the back ground, thus heightening the ironic juxtaposition that seemed

the subject of so many of his photos. I also thought his movement from

Leica to Hasselblad was interesting as well, and the images that came

out of his SWC that he is supposed to use now are really incredible.

Obviously printing is the second part of shooting, but the tonal range

is really quite incredible in those photos. The later landscapes take

his ironic vision, his humor, his acuity for the view less seen, to a

nice place - mountains, lakes, trees, geometry, prisms, angles. He

also appears to have a great sense of self-deprecating humor, and he

really seems to like his wife a lot. I can identify with that.

Recommended for sure if you are in NYC.

 

Also the book for the exhibit is really well-done. The reproductions

of the prints are excellent - some of the best I have seen recently.

Plus MOMA has reissued his self-portraits book which is great too.

 

Fun too walking around the gallery and watching all the photographers

taking their cameras around to see the photographs. A bit of a fashion

parade. I had my camera also, so I would insert some self-deprecating

humor here if I could think of any just now.

[connealy]

Our local paper published a Friedlander shot of New Mexico today that looks like it was taken on a corner in Las Cruces. I'm sorry I was in NYC a little too early to see the show. It was great to visit, though. A friend with a membership gave us a pass which let us breeze by the lines at no cost. It was great to see the selections from the collection up close.