Lee Friedlander: Capturing the Beauty of Life
Lee Friedlander
The beauty of Friedlander's photographs comes from his ability to show everyday life as a piece of art. Friedlander has said, "You don't have to go out looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you" (artnet.com). In Mt. Rushmore, Friedlander is capturing a couple gazing at Mount Rushmore. He allows the viewer to become a part of the picture using the glass behind the tourist to create another perspective, again using the ambiguous technique he is known for. By doing so, he is allowing the viewer to join the couple viewing the amazing feat of humanity. Not only does Friedlander capture a moment in time of what society was like in the late 1960s, but he adds another layer, by allowing the viewer to transport themselves back in time to witness the same experience as the couple admiring the monument.
I find this photograph fascinating to look at given its ambiguous nature. The way Friedlander is able to perfectly capture a balance between the couple in the forefront, the reflections of the crowd outside, the crowd inside, and then Mount Rushmore is truly inspiring. I read that in some of Friedlander's work, he has a reflection of himself, given his technique of capturing different perspectives using storefronts (fraenkelgallery.com). Looking closely inside the building, the man with the camera hanging down on his chest made me think that man was Friedlander himself and that he used a trick to make it appear that he isn't the one taking the picture. Given the reflection and glare on the window, it is hard to tell whether the man is inside or outside.
LEE FRIEDLANDER, New York, 1963
We further see Friedlander's ambiguous nature in one of his better-known photographs titled New York, 1963. In New York, Friedlander is capturing New Yorkers through a revolving door. Doing so provides us with multiple perspectives of the everyday life of various New Yorkers. The man with the hat could be on his way to work, while the woman is heading back home after a day of shopping. Meanwhile, the man in the trenchcoat, seen in the reflection of the revolving door is going about his day. Again, Friedlander is capturing the beauty of everyday life. A possible takeaway from New York is that often life is like a revolving door, one day we are going to work, another day we're shopping, and so on. Eventually, we must take a step back and acknowledge the revolving door so we can look back on all the different experiences we have gone through in life and truly admire what it means to be alive. The step back, in this case, is Friedlander capturing this moment in time.
Comments
Post a Comment