Published in France in 2007
Album order, essential edition
Xu Chungang | wen
He is the former president of Magnum Pictures; he is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Photographic Center; he is known as the "Master of Humorous Photography of Human Nature", but his works always exude bitter sadness and show a keen observation of modern human nature.
Elliot M. Elliott Erwitt (1928-), a Russian parent, spent his childhood in Milan. In 1939, he immigrated to the United States with his family from France. Because he lived in Hollywood as a teenager, he gradually became interested in photography. Before studying photography at Los Angeles City College, he worked in a commercial darkroom. In 1948, he moved to New York and became acquainted with Edward Stachin, the American master of photography, Robert Kappa, a master of war photography and one of Magnum's founders, and Roy Stryker, a photographer for the Federal Agricultural Security Administration. In 1949, after traveling through France and Italy, he returned to New York to begin a career as a professional photographer.
In 1953, Erwitt joined Magnum Pictures at the invitation of Robert Capa. Since then, Erwitt has become famous for his photographic style of seeing strangeness in his eyes and laughing in sorrow, becoming the backbone of Magnum photography and serving as chairman many times. For half a century, his works have been exhibited and published around the world, gaining an international reputation. In 2002, Erwitt was awarded the Centennial Medal and honorary Senior Fellow by the Royal Photographic Society. In 2011, the International Center of Photography awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Infinity Awards for Photography.
In China, when Elliot Everett is mentioned, people first think of him as a "master of humor", which is a striking mark, but the real Elliot is far more than humor. As Adam Gopnik puts it, "He had a Chaplin-esque style, but emotionally he was closer to Buster Keaton." His humor naturally forms a cold and melancholy poetry. Each photograph becomes an elegy in a frozen moment, not from any profound metaphysical reflection, but as with anything that has been remembered but no longer exists. Erwitt's sudden moments of sadness seem to be only a shutter distance from his pun, which is evidence of their greatness. All good jokes eventually turn into sad thoughts. "From humor to sadness, it is the process of Eliot's gaze, but also a process of the viewer's gaze, perception, and recognition, and this is life, that is photography."
Erwitt has lived in New York for a long time and likes to travel the world and take pictures everywhere. The most famous images of his camera besides Khrushchev, Monroe and those cute children are dogs. He photographs dogs with lower, upward-looking, animal-like vision, instantly making people feel the strange beauty of the world, both humorous and frank, and making people think about the difference or meaning between humans and animals in laughter. "A photo that reflects humanity is a good photo. In my opinion, a dog is an animal full of human characteristics. I love dogs, they're great subjects, and you don't have to worry about portrait rights at all. ”
The black book "Elliot Erwitt" contains many of Erwitt's works from the 1950s to the 1980s: Monroe during the filming, a series of summer nude photos, the smiling faces of children, dogs and lonely old people, a dog and a group of people, a silent and confused beach... These pictures, in addition to the delicate observation of urban society, are more of a true portrayal of human nature and life. All the scenes are commonplace, but all the pictures allow us to enjoy the extraordinary visual arts. How to extract non-mediocre pictures and valuable ideas from mediocre life, this book will bring us a lot of thinking.
ussr. russia. moscow. 1959.
France. saint tropez. 1979.
Palace of Versailles. Yvelines, France, 1975.
russia. siberia. bratsk. 1967.
reno, nevada, 1960.
us. las vegas. nevada. 1954.
usa. colorado. 1955.
wall street, new york, 1955.
lyndon johnson investiture. Washington d.c., 1965.
north carolina, 1950.
hollywood, california, 1956.
usa. florida. miami beach. 1984.
usa. east hampton.1976.
california, 1955.
Photographic Bible: The Original French Black Book
——The most collectible collection of world photography classics
"Photo Poche" is a series of world photography classics, known as the "Photographic Bible", the selected photographers are the most brilliant photographic giants in all periods of photography history, such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Robert Duvano, Joseph Kodka and so on. This is a beautifully printed, portable and flip-through pocket photography series. Since its editing and publication in 1982, nearly 200 copies have been published and are still being edited and published.