remerge: Today I want to riff on yesterday’s ruminations. What does it take to  ”last” or be relevant as a photographer?  Well, have you ever heard of Saul Leiter? I bet you have. But if I had asked the question five or six years ago? Maybe not. Sure, everyone knows and talks about the brilliance of Leiter these days, but it wasnt always the case. I went to a presentation by Leiter at ICP a couple of years ago. It must have been in conjunction with the publication of Steidl’s Saul Leiter: Early Color. I remember he talked about how back in the 1940s and 1950s he got work, was able to pay the bills. But at some point, the work dropped off and by and large people pretty much forgot about him. And then, some 40 or 50 years later, “discovered” by Howard Greenberg of the Greenberg Gallery in New York, he was all the sudden the belle of the ball again and , according to Leiter, he was getting phone calls from friends he forgot he even knew. So what happened in all those intervening years? I have no idea, it is a mystery, or maybe it isnt…here’s an interesting quote from the man which might be illuminating: In order to build a career and to be successful, one has to be determined. One has to be ambitious. I much prefer to drink coffee, listen to music and to paint when I feel like it. Things to think about…But thankfully Saul Leiter’s work has been resurrected for all of us to see and enjoy, maybe even with a cup of coffee in hand… Leiter’s work is all over the internet, so Google is going to be your best friend here. But you can see excerpts from his books over at Steidl here ; here he is on the roster of the Greenberg Gallery ; and here is a nice little write up over on lensculture.  Oh wait, and even though it is in German, here is an interview with the man.

remerge:

Today I want to riff on yesterday’s ruminations. What does it take to  ”last” or be relevant as a photographer?  Well, have you ever heard of Saul Leiter? I bet you have. But if I had asked the question five or six years ago? Maybe not. Sure, everyone knows and talks about the brilliance of Leiter these days, but it wasnt always the case.

I went to a presentation by Leiter at ICP a couple of years ago. It must have been in conjunction with the publication of Steidl’s Saul Leiter: Early Color. I remember he talked about how back in the 1940s and 1950s he got work, was able to pay the bills. But at some point, the work dropped off and by and large people pretty much forgot about him. And then, some 40 or 50 years later, “discovered” by Howard Greenberg of the Greenberg Gallery in New York, he was all the sudden the belle of the ball again and , according to Leiter, he was getting phone calls from friends he forgot he even knew. So what happened in all those intervening years? I have no idea, it is a mystery, or maybe it isnt…here’s an interesting quote from the man which might be illuminating:

In order to build a career and to be successful, one has to be determined. One has to be ambitious. I much prefer to drink coffee, listen to music and to paint when I feel like it.

Things to think about…But thankfully Saul Leiter’s work has been resurrected for all of us to see and enjoy, maybe even with a cup of coffee in hand…

Leiter’s work is all over the internet, so Google is going to be your best friend here. But you can see excerpts from his books over at Steidl here ; here he is on the roster of the Greenberg Gallery ; and here is a nice little write up over on lensculture.  Oh wait, and even though it is in German, here is an interview with the man.

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