They Reveal Their Brilliance Gradually...

(get used to the phrase: posthumous digital reproduction scanned from original negative)

So said Tod Papageorge regarding the genius that are Garry Winogrand's photographs, as he spoke for a good two and one half hours (the closest I'll ever get to the Yale MFA photography program) at SFMOMA about his good friend and mentor. Few bowl you over, but they definitely deliver the goods with a very definite but subtle delivery system that has you scouring throughout the frame for the poetic ironies, quirks and humor that Winogrand delighted in. Not a particularly subtle person in real life, his photographs nonetheless reveal a nuanced balance between suggestion and affirmation that many a street shooter well into this new century clumsily imitate, exaggerate and often never convincingly incorporate.

I have yet to see the show itself (which Mr. Papageorge states is a landmark photo exhibit), but I did peruse the rather extensive exhibition catalogue with its 401 plates. Those expecting a vast new treasure trove of Winogrand wonders produced from his latter day archives will be sadly disappointed. There is "new work" to be seen here for sure, but (and this from a ten minute perusal of said book) seems a good half of it is from the late '50s/early '60s, the other half split between his peak years and his post NYC days. Off hand, I'd say a third of the "new stuff" is classic Winogrand that would have (possibly)* met his stringent standards, the other third consisting of "almosts" divided between his formative and mid career years, with most of the later, unseen work (compromising the last "third") not really up to snuff- including the one predominantly plastered on the back cover of said catalogue. Seems they really did get the cream of the crop from that latter period in Winogrand: Fragments From The Real World. Can't say I heartily recommend the current book, but if you're short on his work- it's more than well worth the fifty! Look forward to seeing the show, and all the old friends I grew up with (come April 9th when the museum's free)!

BTW- What did (ahem!) Walker Evans think about Winogrand's work... "tasteless."
* Mr. Papageorge stated Garry wasn't one to miss a photo in the editing process.