Sometimes you just have to believe in synchronicity. Thursday evening, January 11th 2007, found me on 57th Street , 3 times in the presence of work that echoes decades of my development as an artist.
Poppy : Barr's White, New York, 1968
Copyright 1980 by Irving Penn
Courtesy PACE/Macgill
In the 1970’s, I had the great good fortune to come in contact with Irving Penn - still the most prominent editorial/fine art photographer in the world, whose name is synonymous with elegance in the photographic image - and the opportunity to observe him at work. Many times I watched Mr. Penn construct his story by searching out that very special object, which he then subjected to what I can only call a lifetime of experience - until - catching “The” moment, he created in one photograph a story of past, present and future. Penn’s work presents narrative in it’s most pure and elegant guise. “In Flower,” which opened that evening at Pace MacGill, presents Penn’s studies of the title subject from 1967-2006, and is a remarkable exploration in color, form and feeling of the work of this indisputable master.
© Elliot Erwitt • Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery
You have probably had the experience of a laugh, a thrill, or even a tear, at the sight of a photograph by Elliot Erwitt, who since 1948 has been capturing on film pieces of human history - from the largest public event, to a soulful kiss in a public place, to the smallest dog, - all expressed in his signature palette of tones on the emotional scale from whimsy to melancholy. In late 1960’s, when I was a student, the warmth and directness of his work was a driving force in my search for humor and spirit visual expression. Viewing his black and white photographs Edwynn Houk, where his solo exhibition “Personal Best” opened that same evening, was another re-experiencing of a formative event in my career as an artist.
© Thomas Joshua Cooper • Courtesy PACE Wildenstein
Forty years later, those youthful moments are evoked by Thomas Joshua Cooper whose work, new to me, is currently on view in the solo exhibition “Ojo de Agua” at Pace Wildenstein on 57th Street . His photographs are taken on the edge - literally, and take me there figuratively, as he portrays the most extreme environments on the planet intimately, replete with beauty and the nuance of real menace - spiritually enlightening.
PACE/MACGILL - IRVING PENN
Edwynn Houk - ELLIOT ERWITT
Pace Wildenstien - THOMAS JOSHUA COOPER
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