Word: erwitt
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...team of 20 from the renowned photo agency Magnum - including Elliott Erwitt and Steve McCurry - took pictures of South Koreans doing everything from playing to patrolling the Demilitarized Zone to praying at one of the world's largest churches. Over a year, at least 2,000 images organized under eight themes - from society and city to education and entertainment - were taken. A little over 430 are now on display. "We wanted to see how foreigners see our country," explains Ha Soo Jeong, senior coordinator for the "Magnum Korea" project. "We wanted to borrow their eyes and techniques...
...another level, Erwitt's work often depicts connections, some obvious and others apparent only on close inspection. A photograph in Kyoto, Japan in 1977, for example, illustrates a parallelism between people and animals. It depicts a woman scratching her back as a dog does the same. In a 1975 photograph taken at Daytona Beach, Florida, the connection is not so obvious. Erwitt juxtaposes shapes to create compositions that are not readily apparent as real objects. However, detailed study of the photograph reveals a subtle relationship between the shape of apartment facades and a bird perched upon a street lamp...
...photographs in Personal Exposures reflect the spontaneity and spirit inherent in most of Erwitt's work. A photograph of a studio in East Hampton, New York, depicts nude artists painting a clothed model. This image seems too forced and contrived. It makes one wonder whether some of his other work is not also posed...
...Erwitt claims he rarely stages photographs but waits for them to happen. However, a photograph of a dog in mid-air is the result of Erwitt barking at it. The photograph is obviously contrived. But does not a photographer have the poetic licence to stage a picture? And does not any photograph represent reality only as seen by the photographer...
...matter what one's feelings may be on the subject, most of Erwitt's work captures interesting moments with a candor and spontaneity that is quite refreshing...