Harry Callahan [Hardcover]

 

 

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Harry Callahan was the most influential and important figure in photography throughout the last half of the 20th century. This edition of his work shows chronologically how Callahan's approach to the medium evolved and changed, while his vision remained ever faithful to modernity. The book begins in Detroit, where Callahan worked for Chrysler while pursuing photography as a serious hobby. It was also during this time that he married Eleanor Knapp, who would later become the subject for many of his strongest images. The accompanying essay by Sarah Greenough is succinctly written, blending biographical information to the photographs Callahan took throughout his long, photographic journey (Callahan died in 1999). Callahan's outlook on photography changed dramatically after having met Ansel Adams, at a photography workshop in Detroit. Taking some of Adams' philosophy and refining it, Callahan created his own style of photographing/printing, made apparent by such images as 'Weeds in Snow' and 'Detroit, 1942'. In these images and throughout the rest of his life, Callahan easily turned the simplest subject matter into monumental works of photographic art. The book provides powerful examples of this, in both black & white and color. After leaving his job to pursue photography full time, Callahan moved to Chicago and taught at the Institute of Design. Continuing the experimentation he began in Detroit, Callahan worked and refined his style during his Chicago years, utilizing double exposure, collage, close-ups, and the use of positive and negative space. The book then turns to Callahan's New England period. It was during this time that Callahan taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, in Providence. The book captures this period vividly, with images of varying contrast and mood. Here we see Callahan's ability at adapting to his environment by producing increasingly poetic images of nature, as well as urban and suburban street scenes. In his later work from 1972-1992, the photographs in "Harry Callahan" document the photographer's travels in other countries, with an increased attention on color. It remains clear by the images shown in his later years, that Callahan continued to explore photography by constantly challenging himself and the medium. Where most photographers are known for one particular style or body of work (Cartier-Bresson's 'decisive moment' or Robert Frank's publication of The Americans), Callahan is known for many different styles and bodies of work. The photographs in "Harry Callahan" prove this with each turn of the page. Callahan was a photographic artist in the truest sense, if we choose to believe an artists' goal is not only to create but to constantly evolve. Callahan was, continues to be, and always will be an influence to those photographers who seek not only perfection in the creation of their photographic art, but also change.

HARRY CALLAHAN by Sarah Greenough
Catalogue of retrospective at National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996.

The text by Sarah Greenough is political and can be read within the context of American art politics. It is a discourse which aims at affirming in authoritarian timbre the "contribution" made by Callahan to American Art. The history of America started only 300 years ago and given that religion and politics have been mixed since the declaration of Independence it is not unexpected to conclude that American artistic mainstream paradigms are often 1) simplistic and easy to read, 2) have political overtones and 3) are morally acceptable.

By simplistic I mean to say, visual discourses where the writing is direct, devoid of metaphorical content. This has evolved since the 1950s and today assumes forms of supreme social criticism on behalf of art making. Such is the case of Robert Frank's "Americans" or most of Winogrand's work. The form is thus simple and so is the contents. Americans are simply incapable of understanding complexity. Europe is complex, America is simple.

Political overtones in American expression are not necessarily limited to flying the flag. Americans celebrate their land with images of Yosemite, with images of skyscrapers, expressways, cars, machines, etc. Americans are incapable of celebrating the earth unconditionally, without nationalistic overtones. They fly their flag from the porches and the manicured gardens. Adams celebrated America, Monet celebrated the earth.

Most American mainstream artistic paradigms are morally acceptable. It is one of the countries with most teenage pregnancy, with the least amount of sexual education in the early ages, it is still possible to apply corporal punishment to school children in several areas, America is not a signatory to the International Declaration of Human Rights, Children's Rights, the Anti-Genocide Declaration or the International Penal Tribunal.

To top all of this up, less than 10% of American citizens have a passport.

Most of the imagery by Callahan lacks actuality in the eyes of world history of photography. In the 1910s and 1920s, artists in Paris had already performed serious experimentation in painting, sculpture, graphic arts and photography. Moholy-Nagy set-up his Institute of Design in Chicago during the late 1940s. He experienced many difficulties and was never able to run the institute in its various incarnations for more than 3 years. The American public wasn't ready 20 years latter for what Man Ray had done in Paris. Only a small number of people, mostly living in New York were sensitive enough and actually understood the impetus of Modernism.

Callahan's work is a distillation of the more difficult modernism for American consumption. Teaching is a business and as exists as a modality of consumption. I'm very moved by some of his images but I haven't seen anything which is revolutionary as Man Ray, Picasso, Cezanne, Monet were. His work is quite, clam, tranquil, simple, simplistic, a little bit political and slightly poetic. It is miles away from Aaron Siskind, Moholy Nagy and some of the work produced by students at the Institute of Design where he himself was a teacher.

This book is about the political, cultural and social celebration of Callahan's art. As indeed are all the exhibitions in America.

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