gabriel_roca Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 http://www.doubletakemagazine.org/mag/html/backissues/18/smith/text.html For those of you who enjoy the work of W. Eugene Smith, take a look at the above link. This is an article concerning his days in the 6th Avenue Loft in New York, be sure to take a look at the photos as well. Wonderfully written article from Double Take magazine. Enjoy, -Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay bee Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Slight problem with the link, but I was able to locate the piece/pics. Great stuff, thanks Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travis1 Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Be careful when you copy this link. The ending "text.ht ml" has to have the space closed before the browser can read it. Thx Edward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Rumors had it that he would have made even more pictures, but his Leicas were usually at the pawnshop. Poor old Gene! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriel_roca Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 Hi folks, it has been pointed out to me that there was a slight problem with the original link I pasted in. Therefore, here's the correct link. Sorry about that. -Ed http://www.doubletakemagazine.org/mag/html/backissues/18/smith/text.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabriel_roca Posted December 17, 2002 Author Share Posted December 17, 2002 Oh no, I see Travis was here. I hate you Travis. ha ha ha . . . -Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy_des_ruisseaux Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Wow! Didn't have a clue about this. I'm a big Smith fan and a long time lover of jazz,the combination made my day. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadji_singh Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 NPR had a piece on Smith and the photos when that article was published. You can listen to it here:<p> http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1066102 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadji_singh Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 And while you're at the NPR site, you can listen to another piece about Smith's ill-fated Pittsburgh project:<p> http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1035851<p> Actually, if you type in "Photography" or "Photographer" in the NPR search engine you get a lot of good stories on photographers from Helen Leavitt to the so-called "Bang Bang Club" in South Africa to Diane Arbus. It's well worth some time to listen to the NPR archives... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy bennett Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 While we're at it, let's not forget some wonderful books of his work: Gilles Mora's "W. Eugene Smith: Photographs 1934-1975" is a fine monograph that covers his whole career. Sam Stephenson's "Dream Street: W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project," focuses on the infamous Pittsburgh work. There's also Jim Hughes' bio: "W. Eugene Smith: Shadow and Substance," though it's out of print (not hard to find used). Finally, there's the little book on his work in Phaidon's "55" series; well printed, well designed with a great introductory essay. At $7. USD, it's a steal. The book I'd love to see is one that would cover the same period as the on-line article in question. But not the loft/jazz photos. Rather the photos that WES collected together under the title "As from my window I sometimes glance." I've only seen a few of these, reproduced in the books above or in other books I've seen here or there, but there are apparently 1,000s of negs and who knows how many prints. These are fascinating (IMO) shots taken from the window of Smith's studio (in some cases through a broking pane of glass whose jagged contours frame the image), recording the rhythms of the city as they played themselves out beneath his window. One of a number of inspiring "window" projects in photography that I'd like to see more of. As a coincidence, I was looking recently at some old photo mags at work, and happened across the 1959 (?) issue of "Pop Photo" in which Smith's Pittsburgh essay - as laid out by WES - appeared. A wonderful moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william_hahn1 Posted December 18, 2002 Share Posted December 18, 2002 Just would like to add that there is a 28-minute film about the Pittsburgh project called "Brilliant Fever" by Kenneth Love. (I think you have to order it via the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. Mine was a gift.) At the end of the film, during the credits, there is a lot of audio and film footage of Smith which is priceless. (I think the film footage is credited to David X. Young.) In the audio he is explaining a few of his Pittsburgh photos, and discussing gear and techniques. Let me do two quotes from memory (so these are approximate): "I used the prime lens because it was fast, and I needed all that there speed. Speed kills, right?" "I used to drink brandy until one night at a bar the bartender told me brandy was a suicide's drink. So I switched to scotch because I wanted to prove that scotch could also be a suicide's drink....I never drank before I encountered my first censor." Seriously, if you revere Gene Smith's work you should try to get your hands on this film.... -Bill Hahn (Leicaless but envious) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now