William Eggleston
Photographer William Eggleston was born in 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee. He grew up in Sumner, Mississippi, where his early works are from and was raised by his grandparents who owned a cotton plantation. He received his first camera when he was 18and taught himself how to use the Canon Rangefinder. He was inspired to take snapshots of the world around him during a time where the American society was rapidly changing. Eggleston was fascinated by cars, malls, and the suburbs. This became the inspiration for his work and for decades he captured Southern culture and society.
During a time where black and white photography had just begun being accepted as an art form, Eggleston began to work in color. He taught himself from books of prints by Henri-Cartier Bresson and Robert Frank. In 1972, he discovered a commercial way of printing that enhanced the color in his photos. His photos are known for their striking, saturated colors that are captured in familiar places that are observational and call his way of shooting “democratic”. He published a book in 1989 called The Democratic Forest which provides an autobiographical narrative and starts in Mississippi. In 1975, Eggleston received The Guggenheim and The National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships.
His work explores everyday life and he captures the mundane in a very orchestrated way. His photos may seem like there wasn’t much thought put into them, but he captures these mundane moments where everything works with one another. His work legitimized color photography in a world where it was considered too lowbrow and only used commercially. He viewed each photograph as a little painting which is ironic because he also likes to leave his work up to interpretation and says that there is no reason to search for a particular meaning.