Self Portrait

by Lee Friedlander (Photographer), John Szarkowski (Afterword)

Lee Friedlander's surreal sensibility is on full display in this set of photographs, originally published in 1970. Here Friedlander focuses on the role of his own physical presence in his images. He “At first, my presence in my photos was fascinating and disturbing. But as time passed and I was more a part of other ideas in my photos, I was able to add a giggle to those feelings.” Here readers can witness this progression as Friedlander appears in the form of his shadow, or reflected in windows and mirrors, and only occasionally fully visible through his own camera. In some photos he visibly struggles with the notion of self-portraiture, desultorily shooting himself in household mirrors and other reflective surfaces. Soon, though, he begins to toy with the pictures, almost teasingly inserting his shadow into them to amusing and provocative effect--elongated and trailing a group of women seen only from the knees down; cast and bent over a chair as if seated in it; mirroring the silhouette of someone walking down the street ahead of him; or falling on the desert ground, a large bush standing in for hair. These uncanny self-portraits evoke a surprisingly full landscape of the artist's life and mind. This reprint edition of Lee Self Portrait contains nearly 50 duotone images and an afterword by John Szarkowski, former Director of the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art.

Genres: Photography, Art, Art and Photography

104 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Lee Friedlander is a seminal American photographer known for his innovative images of city streets. Often featuring candid portraits of people, signs, and reflections of himself in store front windows, Friedlander’s street photography captures the unexpected overlaps of light and content in urban landscapes. “I’m not a premeditative photographer,” he has said. “You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you.”

Born on July 14, 1934 in Aberdeen, WA, he studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena before moving to New York in 1956. Influenced by the work of Eugène Atget and Walker Evans, he attempted to see things as if a step removed, spontaneously reacting to all the potential images in front of him. Along with Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand, Friedlander was represented in the historic “New Documents” exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1967, curated by John Szarkowski. He went on to publish his acclaimed photobook The American Monument in 1976. More recently, in 2010, Friedlander published America by Car, a book which was accompanied by an exhibition at the Whitney Museum and featured a series of photos that were taken on road trips from behind the wheel of rental cars. The artist continues to live and work in New York, NY. Today, his photographs are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others.

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.