Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Page out of Winogrand's book

I've been immersing myself lately in The Photographs of Homer Page: The Guggenheim Year. Good stuff. He'd definitely be in the Vivian-Maier-Undiscovered-Genius camp if it weren't for the strange fact that he actually enjoyed a brief period of notoriety in the 1950s before plummeting safely back into obscurity. That's where he remained until last year's show/book at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City.

Am I the only one who thinks his street photographs of women directly anticipate Winogrand's Women Are Beautiful?

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Winogrand

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Winogrand

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Winogrand

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Winogrand

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Winogrand

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Winogrand

I suppose opinions on these will vary, depending on whether you think Women Are Beautiful was a great book or chauvinist leering. Whatever you think, it's fun to find antecedents to Winogrand in unlikely places.

I doubt there was any direct influence or that Winogrand even knew of Page's work. More likely just two male street photographers being led, at least partially, by their libidos.

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