Friedlander

by Peter Galassi

Writing about The Museum of Modern Art, New York's monumental and critically acclaimed 2005 Lee Friedlander retrospective, Richard Lacayo of Time magazine said: "If a sophisticated notion of what a picture can look like, the continuous construction of new avenues of feeling, and sheer, sustained inventiveness are the measures we go by, then Friedlander is one of the most important American artists of any kind since World War II Friedlander loves the muchness of the world. He loves the haphazard multitude of things that can pop up in every picture--street signs, sunbeams, bits of roofline, a jagged shadow--all colliding and contradicting one another. In his breezy but very acute introduction to the show's catalogue, Peter Galassi, MoMA's Chief Curator of Photography, gets it just right when he says some of Friedlander's pictures give you the impression that 'the physical world had been broken into fragments and reconstituted under pressure at three times its original density.'"

Genres: Photography, Art, Art and Photography

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Vikas Singh · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book accompanied a major exhibition of Friedlander's works at MOMA. Unlike his other essays published on various other occasions, Peter's essay here is downright boring and a drag. The beginning holds attention because it describes the early childhood of Friedlander and his early attempts at photography . However the essay struggles to hold your attention in the middle because there are just too many ideas and events floating around without composing a coherent picture. Towards the end the essay starts making you feel sleepy and you save yourself by completely skipping it!

[dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

All you need to know about Friedlander, plus a great essay by Peter Galassi.

[Zioluc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enorme raccolta del debordante lavoro di Friedlander: una gioia ad ogni pagina.

[Adam Thorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Friedlander's first and most iconic body of images, Self Portrait is a book I'd been looking to get for awhile. I teach high school and showed his work along with Frank and Winogrand and was shocked that my high school students were disgusted by Friedlander's images. I'd never thought of them as that subversive or challenging, but apparently, his dry, deadpan humor and blocked up visual fields are painful for 16 year old girls. So if you're a 16 year old girl, beware. I still think they're worth spending some time with, though.

[Bap · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of the photography of Lee Friedlander spanning more than 30 years. The master of the black and white snapshot. These are not staged or "artsy"but he has a good eye for juxtaposition and the ordinary.

[Marissa Barbieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friedlander is one of my all-time favorite photographers, and all the more fascinating when he's a part of his own compositions.

[Jonathan]

Saw this retrospective Exhibit @ SFMOMA. A huge range of styles and subjects. Lots of humor and experimentation.

[Marc Friedman]

Well known and important self portrait.

[James Moes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of shadows.