Garry Winogrand Essay -- Essays Papers

Garry Winogrand Gary Winogrand’s photography career began when a friend introduced him to it in 1948 while taking painting classes at Columbia University. After Winogrand’s first exposure to the darkroom, he abandoned painting and â€Å"never looked back.† Winogrand became extremely emerged in photography and felt that nothing else in life mattered. He dropped out of college to pursue his passion. Earning an average of ninety cents per week, he had a difficult yet determined beginning. Winogrand did not concern himself with issues that were affecting society and therefore did not always appeal to the mass public. Winogrand’s long and successfully debatable career experienced many turns and obstacle that ultimately led him to become one of the most noted photographers of the late twentieth century. Winogrand discovered photography at a point in time when unconventional photos were just beginning to emerge. Although it was thought that photojournalism had offered the most opportunity, this new and unconventional direction of photography was preferred. Artists were now able to shoot what they desired not what they were told to shoot. This revolutionary form of photography was based on emotion and intuition as opposed to precision and description. Exploring real life became more of the focus, instead of calculated or planned out pictures. In the early fifties, Winogrand attempted to become a freelance photographer, but the money he was making was not sufficient enough to support his new wife and children. He was forced to spend most of his time working for magazines such as Colliers, Redbook, and Sports Illustrated. At this time Winogrand’s photo’s had no distinction from any other photojournalist, but he always felt different and waited for the chance to pr ove it. He once said, â€Å" The best stories were those that had no story line†¦on entertainers†¦or athletic contests, where the photographer could forget narrative and concentrate on movement, flesh, gesture, display, and human faces†(Szarkowski, p17). By the early sixties, Winogrand’s marriage was beginning to fail. He became frustrated with his wife Adrienne because she would not disregard her interest in becoming a dancer and go to work to support his desire to become a photographer. It was during time that Gary became extremely preoccupied with photographing women on the streets of N... ...ich kind of shoes, handbags, sunglasses, and hairstyles were most popular. The actions, gestures, and thoughts of these people both say and imply many things. The black man and white woman on the left seem to be engaged in a conversation. The white woman sitting next to her might be whispering about the fact that the other woman is talking to a black man, which could further imply that this action of conversing outside of one’s race was not commonly accepted. The older man on the right may not be interested in futuristic ideas, preferring more conservative items such as a newspaper. Although each figure is involved in something different, their actions seem to have a connection to one another. Winogrand shot a wide view of this scene, but still managed to capture an intimate portrayal of each person. There are numerous possible stories and questions about each person sitting on the bench. Winogrand makes the viewers ponder over each expression and interaction, having them wishing they were sitting on the bench, eavesdropping on the sub jects. Bibliography Szarkowski, John. Winogrand: Figments From The Real World. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1988.