Julie Saul Gallery

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When color was new
vintage photographs from around the 1970s
July 7 - September 6,2008
Summer hours: Monday-Friday 11-6. Closed August 18-25.

Harry Callahan, William Christenberry, William Eggleston, Mitch Epstein, Walker Evans, Luigi Ghirri, Nan Goldin, Dan Graham, Jan Groover, David Hockney, Helen Levitt, Joel Meyerowitz, Paul Outerbridge, Martin Parr, John Pfahl, Arthur Siegel, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld, Boyd Webb, Terry Wild

The Julie Saul Gallery is pleased to announce our summer exhibition of color work made during and around the 1970s, "when color was new." The selection is comprised of 40 works by 20 photographers ranging from the straight street or snapshot aesthetic of Helen Levitt, William Eggleston, and Joel Meyerowitz to more conceptually based work of contemporaries Boyd Webb, John Pfahl, Dan Graham and Luigi Ghirri. Hybrids exist as well as in the straight yet formally driven compositions of Jan Groover and David Hockney. The diaristic quality of the snapshot aesthetic, which is such a standard feature of art school production, is beautifully demonstrated by the prints of Stephen Shore.

Self proclaimed art photographers have experimented with the use of color from the mediums' early days, as seen in the autochromes of Edward Steichen. Some examples of color work made prior to the 1970s are featured in the show to demonstrate the "pre-history" of color art photography, especially as used by cross-over commercial/art practioners Paul Outerbridge Jr, Arthur Seigel and Harry Callahan.

It was only with the imprimatur given by John Szarkowski at the Museum of Modern Art in 1976 with his controversial exhibition of William Eggleston's Guide, that color became generally accepted within the art canon. The trickle down effect took hold almost immediately within institutions and art schools- and by the mid-1980s color was the most widely used medium in art photography and today it is ubiquitous.

Many mediums were evident within the practice of color photography from its earliest days. The stunning intensity of the color carbro prints of Outerbridge stand out in contrast to the subtle tonalities of even the most vibrant chromogenic prints. The selection includes beautiful examples of the nearly extinct medium of dye transer prints as seen in the work of Meyerowitz, William Christenberry and Joel Sternfeld. In several instances, the exhibition includes both chromogenic prints and dye transfers by the same photographer, enabling one to see the different qualities of the two mediums. The short-lived popularity of the SX-70 Polaroid gave rise to the use of color by Walker Evans- who had previously vowed his lack of interest in color. Australian photographer Boyd Webb made stunning use of the powerful Cibachrome print in his pop still lifes.

Altogether, this group of images, which range from still life to landscape and street photography demonstrate a moment when there was novelty and even shock in the use of color in an art context- while today it certainly represents the norm. Almost all of the prints in the exhibition were made at or around the time of the negative, allowing us to reflect on the historical appearance of color print, which today are almost universally printed digitally.

An illustrated catalog with an essay by Linda Yablonsky is available. Please call the gallery for a copy, or for additional images or information contact Edna Cardinale at edna@saulgallery.com.

WHEN COLOR WAS NEW
VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS FROM AROUND THE 1970S
JULY 7 - SEPTEMBER 6, 2008

Entrance:

1. William Christenberry
Cannon's Grocery, near Greensboro, AL, 1972
chromogenic print, printed 1975
3 1/4 x 4 3/4”

2. William Christenberry
Pure Oil Sign in Landscape, near Marion, Alabama, 1977
dye transfer, printed 1981
3 1/4 x 4 7/8”
apVI

3. Paul Outerbridge
Untitled (Beach Equipment), 1936
carbro print
1 4 3/4 x 11 3/4”

4. Terry Wild
Venice, CA, 1971
chromogenic print, mounted
5 x 7 3/8”

5. Terry Wild
Drive-In Concession Building, Lancaster County, PA, 1971
chromogenic print, mounted
5 1/4 x 7 5/8”

Left of entrance:

6. Walker Evans
Untitled, 1973/74
SX 70 Polaroid
3 x 3 1/4”

7. Boyd Webb
Rhubarb, 1983
Cibachrome
14 x 11”
edition 1/10

8. Boyd Webb
Tubers, 1983
Cibachrome
14 x 11”
edition 1/10

East wall:

9. William Eggleston Memphis, 1969
dye transfer
signed and dated 1969 on verso in pencil
16 x 20”

10. Stephen Shore
Normal, Illinois, July 1972
chromogenic print, printed 2000
4 x 6”
edition 3/10

11. Stephen Shore
New York City, NY, Sept-Oct 1972
chromogenic print, printed later
4 x 6”
edition 4/10

12. Dan Graham
'Two Home Homes' Two Doors With Different Colors, Staten Island, New York, 1978 chromogenic print
signed, titled and dated in pencil recto
14 x 11”

13. Jan Groover
Untitled, 1976
three chromogenic prints
6 x 9” each
edition 1/3 (unique vintage work)

14. Helen Levitt
New York (kids with laundry), 1972
dye transfer signed verso
9 5/8 x 14 1/4”

15. Arthur Siegel
Untitled (store window), 1951
chromogenic print
10 1/2 x 13 3/8”

16. Arthur Siegel
Untitled (store window), 1951
chromogenic print
10 1/8 x 6 3/4”

17. Harry Callahan
New York, 1955
dye transfer, printed 1976
8 3/4 x 13 3/8”

18. Martin Parr
Last Resort , plate 1, 1982
chromogenic print, printed 1986
10 1/2 x 13”

19. Martin Parr
Last Resort- plate 24, 1982
chromogenic print, printed 1986
10 1/2 x 13”

West wall:

20. Mitch Epstein
Topanga Canyon, California, 1974
(from Recreation, 1974)
dye transfer, printed 1976/77
9 x 14”

21. Joel Sternfeld
McLean, Virginia, December 4th 1978
dye transfer, printed 1983
signed, titled and dated verso
15 x 19 1/2

22. John Pfahl
Altered Landscape- Australian Pines, Fort De Soto, Florida, 1977
chromogenic print
7 1/2 x 9 1/2”

23. John Pfahl
Altered Landscape- Falling Oranges, Lutz, Florida, 1977
chromogenic print
7 1/2 x 9 1/2”

24. Helen Levitt
New York, c. 1972
dye transfer signed verso
8 3/4 x 13 3/4”

South wall:

25. Joel Sternfeld
The Space Shuttle Columbia Lands at Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas, March 1979 chromogenic print, printed 1987
13 1/2 x 17”
edition 17/100

26. David Hockney
Sur Le Motif, May 1974
chromogenic print
signed and dated from Twenty Photographic Pictures by David Hockney,
Sonnabend Portfolio, 1976
edition 33/80
7 x 9 1/2”

27. William Eggleston
Vizcaya, Miami, 1985
chromogenic print
13 1/8 x 19 7/8”

28. Jan Groover
Untitled 81.4 (green pepper in cookware), 1979
chromogenic print
signed, numbered and dated in ink recto
14 3/4 x 18 3/4”
edition of 3

29. Nan Goldin
Ryan in the Tub, Province, Mass., 1976
Cibachrome
edition of 25
19 x 19”

30. Nan Goldin
The Hug, New York City, 1980
Cibachrome
signed, titled, dated 15/25 verso
23 x 15 1/2”

Unless otherwise indicated all works in the exhibiton are vintage prints.

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Numbers reference check list lower left:

2. © Copyright William Christenberry, Courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

3. © Paul Outerbridge

4. ©Terry Wild, Courtesy Joseph Bellows Gallery, CA

5. ©Terry Wild, Courtesy Joseph Bellows Gallery, CA

6. © Walker Evans

7. © Boyd Webb

8. © Boyd Webb

9. © William Eggleston, Copyright 2008 Eggleston Artistic Trust, Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.

11. © Stephen Shore

14. ©Helen Levitt

15. © Arthur Siegel

16. © Arthur Siegel

19. © Martin Parr

20. © Mitch Epstein
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21. © Joel Sternfeld, Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

22. © John Pfahl

23. © John Pfahl

24. © Helen Levitt, Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery, New York

25. © Joel Sternfeld, Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York

26. © David Hockney

27. © William Eggleston, Copyright 2008 Eggleston Artistic Trust, Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York. Used with permission. All rights reserved.