Description

Vivid, poetic, even mysterious, the works of the pioneering American photographer William Eggleston portray life in his home town of Memphis, Tennessee, and the people he encountered, from the 1950s to the present day. This book includes both well-known and unseen portraits from Eggleston’s long career, to provide a fresh perspective on one of photography’s most influential practitioners.

William Eggleston’s photographs are special for their eccentric, unexpected compositions, playfulness, implied narrative and, above all, his portrayals of people. Over the past half-century he has created a powerful and enduring body of work featuring friends and family, musicians, artists and others.

Eggleston frequented the 1970s Memphis club scene, developing friendships and getting to know musicians, including Ike Turner, Alex Chilton and others. His fascination with the nightclub culture resulted in the experimental video Stranded in Canton (2005), which chronicles visits to bars in Memphis, Mississippi, and New Orleans. At the same time he encountered and photographed the likes of Dennis Hopper, Eudora Welty and Walter Hopps – and for a brief moment Eggleston even entered the Warhol Factory scene, dating the Warhol protégé, Viva.

Works included span Eggleston’s career from the 1950s through to his well-known portraits of the 1970s to the present day. The catalogue includes an essay, chronology and beautifully reproduced plates, as well as a revealing interview with Eggleston and his close family members, conducted in Memphis by author Phillip Prodger.