Garry Winogrand: Winogrand Color - by Michael Almereyda & Susan Kismaric (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Rarely-seen color work from the preeminent master of postwar American street photography

This monograph stands as a groundbreaking tribute to the early color work of renowned American photographer Garry Winogrand. While he is most recognized for his candid and lively black-and-white street photography, Winogrand's portfolio also includes an impressive collection of over 45,000 color slides captured between the early 1950s and the late 1960s. Using two cameras strapped to his chest--one loaded with color film and the other with black-and-white film--he extensively documented his surroundings between commercial assignments, developing and refining a distinct and progressively daring body of personal work.
From the bustling streets of Manhattan to the shaded underside of Coney Island's boardwalk to the expansive landscapes and open roads of the American West, Winogrand Color unveils a tender portrait of a version of the country that feels at once bygone and timeless. His snapshots of strangers exude an unparalleled sense of intimacy, offering poetic glimpses into everyday postwar America. Presenting 150 photographs selected from the archives at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona, this is the first monograph dedicated in full to Winogrand's vivid color photography.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Garry Winogrand (1928-84) was a highly influential American photographer who came into prominence for his trailblazing contributions to street photography. His keen eye for human emotions and his ability to freeze spontaneous moments immortalized the essence of American society. His work continues to inspire and shape the field, leaving a lasting impact on both his contemporaries and future generations of photographers.

Review Quotes

Even after all these years, every picture feels new, and newly seen. [...] One Winogrand subject that takes on more heft in color is American emptiness--a void in the social landscape that appears all the more unnerving in wide-open spaces.--Vince Aletti "The New Yorker"

Few writers or photographers can be said to match Winogrand's passionately alert, omnivorous observation of the country's surface turmoil and unsettled nerves, the sense of a panoramic national portrait.--Michael Almereyda "Literary Hub"

Peeling back any nostalgia for Kodachrome, this is where the photographer's vision still seems fresh and open, with an aesthetic reveling that can't be attributed to the socio-political discourse of street photography or for that matter to a lonely existentialist view of the artist.--Lyle Rexer "Brooklyn Rail"

Arranged chronologically and unfolding like a box of postcards from an old friend, the publication offers a snapshot of everyday life that takes on the patina of history and the passage of time.--Miss Rosen "AnOther"

From the bustling streets of Manhattan to the shaded underside of Coney Island's boardwalk via the expansive landscapes and open roads of the American west, Winogrand Color unveils a tender portrait of a version of the country that feels at once bygone and timeless.--Lisa Foreman "Guardian"

Winogrand was there to document it all, to witness the seismic shift firsthand, crossing the country courtesy of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Despite the era's inherent anxieties, Winogrand's America is not imbued with Edward Hopper's singular melancholy or the poetic brooding of Robert Frank, but instead with humor and joy.--Tracy Doyle "Air Mail"