Photography as Art? London Auction…
September 25, 2020Helmut Newton once said that in his view, the two "dirty" words in Photography were "good taste" and "art". Is photography an art form? Or is that just too pretentious?
I've never really thought of it as art and I don't specifically consider myself an "artist". I like to create images. I find photography to be fascinating and mysterious. I also never really considered masters of the genre, much like Helmut himself, as artists. They are just really fucking good photographers. Sally Mann, Dorothea Lange, Annie Leibovitz - all masters. Artists? Hmmm.
Well, there are those that view photography as high art and Phillips Auction House is gearing up for a big sale of photographs - scheduled for 25 September in London.
Recently, I was looking at the catalogue and was captivated by many of the lots up for sale. Iconic images from true masters. Here are a few favorites that jumped off the screen.
Lot #57 Gregory Crewdson - Untitled, 2004. (Estimate £30,000 - 50,000)
The soft blueish purple color cast is intriguing. There is a sense of place. A sense of humanity in this photograph. The open doors of the station wagon create a balance. The photograph is modern, but there is a timeless feel. The classic American grocery store. Simple. Beautiful. And a sense of sadness. A sense of loss.
Lot #142 Hiroshi Sugimoto - Time Exposed, 1991. (Estimate £8,000 - 12,000)
Sugimoto's work has long captivated me. His long exposure work, usually of the horizon over a body of water is so simple but so mysterious. His photography takes the viewer out of space and time. There is no place, yet the work is familiar. It is somewhere we have been. Somewhere familiar. He is a master of black and white.
Lot #150 Nick Brandt - Elephant Five, Amboseli, 2008. (Estimate £20,000 - 30,000)
A gorgeous photograph of majestic, beautiful animals. The print itself is 103.3 x 154 cm (40 5/8 x 60 5/8 inches) so it would be larger than life on an exhibition wall. A large photographic print for the world's largest land mammal. Look at the little baby!
Lot #60 Sally Mann - Untitled #13 from Deep South, 1998. (Estimate £10,000 - 15,000)
I don't have a favorite photographer but Sally Mann's work has inspired me so much over the past ten years. Her photography is mysterious and meaningful. She often photographs her family and other people close to her. Her controversial book Immediate Family (Aperture, 1992) is one of my favorite collections of photographs. Her work tells a story. Her work is product of her vision as much as it a product of the land where she shoots.
Lot #4 Wolfgang Tillmans - paper drop (studio) II, 2011. (Estimate £100,000 - 150,000)
This photograph by Wolfgang Tillmans is printed 135 x 202 cm (53 1/8 x 79 1/2 in.). Huge. When I first saw it, I blinked a few times. It's folded paper. But. I looked a little harder. Look at the texture. Look at the light in the middle of the frame. The softness. The gradation. Could we consider this a still life? It is somehow metaphysical. And while it may look like a folded piece of paper in some really fucking great studio light (it is), I’m fascinated by the amount artistic vision that went into creating this work. And it is estimated to bring £100,000 (~$127,000).
Auction is tomorrow in London. I will be curious to check the sales results.
For some, photography is fine art.
I just like shooting photographs.
That's all for now.
Listen: The Kills - "Ash and Ice" (2016). Recently discovered and so fucking awesome. Go listen. It will make you feel something.
Watch: Light from Light, (Grasshopper films, 2019). Such a beautiful film. The cinematography was gorgeous. Check it out.
Visit: Phillips Photography Auction: London 25 September 2020
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