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W. Eugene Smith: Shadow and Substance: The Life and Work of an American Photographer
W. Eugene Smith ranks among the pre-eminent photographers of the twentieth century. Internationally renowned for his searing images of World War II and his powrful photo essays (for Life magazine and other publications), Smith influenced how a sizeable public perceived the times it lived in.
The issues he confronted were large: life and death, love and hate, good and evil. The thread that ran through all of Smith's work was the indomitability of the human spirit. Perhaps no single photograph reflects this more than The Walk to Paradise Garden, a universal, life-affirming image that was selected to conclude the Family of Man exhibition and book.
Yet the private Gene Smith agonizes over his own preceived failures - the inner conflicts that fueled his fire and, at times, drove him to the edge of madness.
Haunted by self-doubt, he drank to excess, and the anphetamines that allowed him to work around the clock became an addiction that nearly destroyed his career.
To many observers, Gene Smith's was a life layered with pain - but out of that pain came art.
After more than a decade of research and 300 interviews with Smith's family, friends and associates, award winning editor and writer Jim Hughes brings into focus the shadow and substance of Smith's creative genius in this landmark biography.
The issues he confronted were large: life and death, love and hate, good and evil. The thread that ran through all of Smith's work was the indomitability of the human spirit. Perhaps no single photograph reflects this more than The Walk to Paradise Garden, a universal, life-affirming image that was selected to conclude the Family of Man exhibition and book.
Yet the private Gene Smith agonizes over his own preceived failures - the inner conflicts that fueled his fire and, at times, drove him to the edge of madness.
Haunted by self-doubt, he drank to excess, and the anphetamines that allowed him to work around the clock became an addiction that nearly destroyed his career.
To many observers, Gene Smith's was a life layered with pain - but out of that pain came art.
After more than a decade of research and 300 interviews with Smith's family, friends and associates, award winning editor and writer Jim Hughes brings into focus the shadow and substance of Smith's creative genius in this landmark biography.
- GenresPhotography
606 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2014
This book tells us how this great artist, shaped by tragic family history, wounded physically and mentally by war, brutally attacked--his cameras destroyed--tryng to tell the story of voiceless victims, deformed by the mercury poisioning created by one corporation, had to continuously fight the corporate management, at LIFE magazine, for the creative freedom to show the world HIS unique photo-stories of the human condition.
Smith's stunning B&W images, masterfully illuminated with, directional, natural light, giving his images strong shadows on his subjects and often deep dark vignettes, were hand printed by Smith like gothic paintings.
His dramatic prints evoke the tenebrism of the baroque master painter Caravaggio--see "The Calling of Saint Matthew".
The influence of Smith's work, more than any other photographer, is why I shifted my professional photography from things to people. That influence is also why I only use natural light when outside or when inside, window light, much like the Dutch painter Vermeer did 300 years ago.
This style of photography is fast disappearing in this digital age. I urge serious photographers to study Smith's images and read this story of an artist whose passion would permit no compromises to his vision.
Jerry W. Venz
Smith's stunning B&W images, masterfully illuminated with, directional, natural light, giving his images strong shadows on his subjects and often deep dark vignettes, were hand printed by Smith like gothic paintings.
His dramatic prints evoke the tenebrism of the baroque master painter Caravaggio--see "The Calling of Saint Matthew".
The influence of Smith's work, more than any other photographer, is why I shifted my professional photography from things to people. That influence is also why I only use natural light when outside or when inside, window light, much like the Dutch painter Vermeer did 300 years ago.
This style of photography is fast disappearing in this digital age. I urge serious photographers to study Smith's images and read this story of an artist whose passion would permit no compromises to his vision.
Jerry W. Venz
February 3, 2020
A well done biography that I really enjoyed!
January 22, 2017
Acerca de su famosa fotografía The Walk to Paradise Garden, la primera realizada en 1946 después de una larga y dolorosa recuperación tras el accidente al pisar una mina, Smith escribía:
"There must be a realization that photography is the best liar among us, abetted by the belief that photography shows it as it is. My people have always been those people trapped in a corner. They are my passion. This is why two kids walking into the light can be my signature photograph... I can come to them with a voice they don not possess." (W.E.S.)
En esta biografía, tras una década de investigación y mas de 300 entrevistas con la familia y amigos de Smith, Jim Hughes nos sumerge en las "shadow and substance" de este genio de la fotografía.
"There must be a realization that photography is the best liar among us, abetted by the belief that photography shows it as it is. My people have always been those people trapped in a corner. They are my passion. This is why two kids walking into the light can be my signature photograph... I can come to them with a voice they don not possess." (W.E.S.)
En esta biografía, tras una década de investigación y mas de 300 entrevistas con la familia y amigos de Smith, Jim Hughes nos sumerge en las "shadow and substance" de este genio de la fotografía.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews