The Democratic Forest

by William Eggleston (Photographer), Eudora Welty (Introduction)

Containing 150 recent photographs by the American photographer William Eggleston, this volume provides a sequence of images which form an almost autobiographic narrative, beginning with pictures of Eggleston's home territory in the Mississippi Delta and radiating out across the USA.

Genres: Photography, Art, Art and Photography, Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 1989

About the author

Born in Memphis and raised in Sumner, Mississippi, William Eggleston was, even in youth, more interested in art and observing the world around him than in the more popular southern boyhood pursuits of hunting and sports. While he dabbled in obtaining an education at a succession of colleges including Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, he became interested in the work of Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson, and began taking black and white photographs with the Leica camera a friend had given him. He began experimenting with color photography in 1965. Although processes for color photography had existed in various forms since the turn of the century, at that time it still was not considered a medium for fine art, and was mostly relegated to the world of advertising.

Eggleston was the first photographer to have a solo show of color prints at the MoMA in 1976. Accompanied by the release of the book William Eggleston's Guide, it was a watershed moment in the history of photography.

Reviews

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forest can be hard to navigate.
(1) There's the original "The Democratic Forest" published in the late 1970s with an intro by Eudora Welty (which can be read here: http://www.egglestontrust.com/df_intr...).
(2) There's the massive six-volume version that collects much of this sprawling body of work. It was recently released by Steidl and no doubt overflows with riches though it's priced beyond the means of most folks, myself included.
(3) Then there's this brand new single volume distillation of that work. It's excellent and nicely sequenced by Eggleston's grandson. I haven't looked at the original version of "The Democratic Forest" in ages, but my memory is that this version offers a superior selection of shots. It's certainly fairly different. I've rounded up my rating for Alexander Nemerov's introductory essay, which is one of the best pieces ever written on Eggelston's off-handedly profound art.

[dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Democratic Forest is a title which refers to a body of work of roughly 12.000 pictures taken by Eggleston in the '80s. A Small selection was published in 1989 and this new 2016 book is a sort of summary of the 10-volumes-1010 pictures edition published by Steidl in 2015. There are no indications about where in the 10 books these pictures have been taken off (though, quite obviously, not from the volume dedicate to the city of Berlin).
The selection is very good and contains some rarely seen pictures. The narrative is lousy, but it clearly talks about travel. It starts from "home" and then moves around. As common with Steidl, the book is greatly done. The prints are very saturated and quite grainy (coming from 35mm film). The introduction adds a remarkable comparison between E. and - another William from the south - Faulkner.

[David Rothwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any serious collector of the seminal work of William Eggleston, will know that this is no mere slight brushstroke of his oeuvre. William Eggleston famously said of his approach to photography; "I am at war with the obvious". This statement seems to amplify the banal, colourful, intrinsically linked subject matter. Whether it be a ceiling, a shopping mall carpark, views from restaurant windows or bottles of soda. These recurrent themes are what draws his followers of this dissenter to his artform. Certainly, his style seems to influence a middle-class English photographer in the guise of Martin Parr, who has published work of colourful cakes and indeed a book aptly titled The Non-Conformists, seems to assert the close relationship with the obvious, these photographers both share. If you're looking for a post-modernist perspective on social documentary, then this book really doesn't define itself as such. However, if you're looking for a book that gives you an insightful perspective on post-modern colour photography, and how colour highlights certain eccentricities and characteristics of southern aristocracy, this is definitely well worth seeking out.

[Wanfei Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is such a beautiful photobook...Some photos are so quietly and hiddenly beautiful. And in the process of reading through the book quite quickly, I try to feel and understand three things:

1. some photos are put singularly, namely a blank page with a photo, while some other photos are arranged left to right. I do feel there seems to be some considerations for that. And I do feel some paired images echo each other in a beautiful way.

2.why the book title "The Democratic Forest"? Still don't get it at this moment.

3. The last page with the quote is perfect in that place after all the visual experience: "What is there, however strange, can be accepted without question; familiarity will be what overwhelms us.----Eudora Welty". The words are so great, and it is through reading the photographer's lens and images I come to validate this quote as one of the many readers. The reading-to-validate experience is so direct and immediate, while I can surely imagine how much more difficult it is to present such images that audience can validate in their experience the point "familiarity will be what overwhelms us."

[heyyonicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cette lecture me confirme que je ne suis pas un grand fan des photographies d'Eggleston. Bien qu'elles aient certaines qualités indéniables auxquelles je peux être réceptif selon les clichés (un beau grain, des lumières rasantes assez cinématographiques...), je leur trouve un côté légèrement négligé qui ne fait pas écho avec ma sensibilité. Cet aspect instinctif et naïf de photographier est un peu détaillé dans l'essai introductif, que je n'ai pas spécialement apprécié non plus. Tout n'est pas à jeter bien sûr, et certaines photos m'ont plu, mais l'ensemble me laisse un peu indifférent.

[Mary Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of beautiful photographs with an illuminating introductory essay.

[Rob Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something warm and pleasing about these pictures. Maybe it's just the way many of these are of everyday things we don't think about but I'm not smart enough to say.

[David Rothwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any serious collector of the seminal work of William Eggleston, will know that this is no mere slight brushstroke of his oeuvre. William Eggleston famously said of his approach to photography; "I am at war with the obvious". This statement seems to amplify the banal, colourful, intrinsically linked subject matter. Whether it be a ceiling, a shopping mall carpark, views from restaurant windows or bottles of soda. These recurrent themes are what draws his followers of this dissenter to his artform.

An Eggleston photograph identifies every day yet, he is at war with the obvious. A twist then that may isolate some critics but, also support and strengthen their respective theory. That yes, the work may seem familiar and boring, but of course, they are right. He is one of many colour photographers; the list seemingly growing. Others have tried to copy his style but failed not having the required tenacity for such a thematic or, indeed a sense of the vernacular language of his photography. Just as the photographic language of Saul Leiter is a very different perspective, it is still an observation of everyday life. I've always been a fan of his colour palette, but also, I have been a fan of his early monochromatic work. However, when I view those photographs, I yearn for them to be in colour. Your sense of visual literacy becomes accustomed to a particular style, you learn to appreciate the obvious. Hence my affinity with William Eggleston, he is not an out and out documentarian in the photojournalistic vain, but he is a documentarian who has influenced many a photographer.

Certainly, his style seems to influence a middle-class English photographer in the guise of Martin Parr, who has published work of colourful cakes and indeed a book aptly titled The Non-Conformists, seems to assert the close relationship with the obvious, these photographers both share. If you're looking for a post-modernist perspective on social documentary, then this book really doesn't define itself as such. However, if you're looking for a book that gives you an insightful perspective on post-modern colour photography, and how colour highlights certain eccentricities and characteristics of southern aristocracy then this is, definitely well worth seeking out.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking at these photos and thinking, "what are they of?" and "why did he frame it this way?" And that is why I like it. I felt the need to 'figure out' what was going on in the photos. Not because I didn't understand, exactly, but because I kind-of understood and wanted to more fully understand them. I need to come back to these photos in the future. They are compelling and I don't know why yet. Perhaps it's because I know Eggleston as a 'famous' photographer and therefore impart automatic importance to these photos. I wonder if I would feel the same way about someone else's photos if I didn't know of or about that person.

[Scott Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me realize how much I have been conditioned to see the world. Eggleston has somehow learned to see the world democratically, all things, even the most banal, worth acknowledging. He avoids the spectacular moment, the supercharged emotional scene, the freak, the rare, the exception. (Alternately, perhaps simultaneously, he shows how the exceptional is a potential within the ordinary; the resulting tension is marvelous.) Without a shred of sentimentality he photographs the everyday world, and he does so in a way that is as beautiful as it is disquieting.

[Shelby Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this collection compelling ... with one exception. I love the photo of the gold phone booths outside an office building. Everything else feels lacking: It's either cropped in the wrong place, contains distracting elements, the colors are "off" (unnatural), or the subject wasn't worth shooting. It's a shame because many of the subjects would have been interesting if handled differently.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Democratic in the visual sense. Deceptive in that these are not snap shots. A peek at a larger body of work that consists of maybe 100,000 images. "Avoiding the obvious" Docked a star (half-star?) for production quality, which is maybe unfair as this book was pithed (affordably) at the mainstream.

[Barry Stoch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book after watching a YouTube video of a gallery show which was exhibiting prints of the Democratic Forest works. The prints in the gallery were bold in colour and saturation and I was excited to see these works in this book.
While I enjoyed Eggleston's images, I was disappointed in the presentation of them in the book, as I thought the images were flat and dull

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Americans love portraits of people or photos of national parks, but Eggleston is focusing on the Southern landscape that is on the margins. The greatest living American photographer by far.

[Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

scored a used copy of the strand. i didn't really get it back when i read wilson's copy at hillside.

[Marti Mattox · Rating 5 out of 5]

pure poetry

[Tyler McGaughey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am at war with the obvious." - W.E.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ordinary, beautiful, epic odyssey and post-self-portrait of the legendary photographer and jewel of The South. In many ways, superior to 'The Guide.'