Night Fishing, Near Bonnet Carre Spillway, Louisiana, 1998. © Richard Misrach.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net.
We will occasionally be featuring images by acclaimed fine art photographers. The goal is not to offer a comprehensive review of such work, but merely to give us all a taste—a sense—of what the best can do.
Richard Misrach is from California. He was born in 1949 and is most famous for his early use of color in the 1970’s. The photograph above is from his new show, opening in San Francisco at the Fraenkel Gallery and will run from April 9-May 30. It is called “Beings 1975-2015” and emphasizes his assessment of the human figure.
His new book “The Mysterious Opacity of Other Beings” is also being released. Quality photography books are extremely expensive and difficult to produce, and this one is $80.00.
The language of photography is such that once you get past pretty pictures, you might be challenged to appreciate what the experts see that prompts them to place an image in a gallery or a museum show. Sometimes I see a photograph appearing in a gallery announcement that I can’t figure out why it is acclaimed.
But when it comes to art, you don’t need to ask that question. Just study the work and ask yourself if you like it–for any reason. And sometimes you can’t put it into words, but you don’t have to. There is no right answer.
I like the “Night Fishing” image above, but I am hard pressed to say why. Part of it is in the lighting and it is about the tiny solitary figure perfectly still as a massive boat goes slowly by. I wish I owned that image, but I can’t say any more at this time. If I look at it again and again, some more insights might develop.
But I will add something of my own to this picture by offering a soundtrack which is what I do on Blogfinger. I love to look at still photos while music is playing. You don’t have to understand the words; just let the music float by as you view this lovely image.
As for Richard Misrach or the Fraenkel folks, I’m sure they understand that whoever possesses a work of art will add personal value by incorporating it into their lives, even if it is just a song or how the photo is displayed.
Paul Goldfinger. Photography editor @Blogfinger
Link; Misrach gallery show at Fraenkel Gallery
There are some videos by Misrach inside this link.
STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO “Para Machuchar Meu Coracao”