Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt

Vienna 2012
Born (1928-07-26) July 26, 1928
Paris, France
Nationality American
Occupation Photographer
Spouse(s) Lucienne Van Kan (1953–1960), Diana Dann (1968–1975), Susan Ringo (1977–1984), de:Pia Frankenberg[1] (1998–the present)
Children 3

Elliott Erwitt (born 26 July 1928) is an American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings— a master of Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment".

Early life

Erwitt was born in Paris, France, to Jewish-Russian immigrant parents. In 1939, when he was ten, his family immigrated to the United States. He studied photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles City College and the New School for Social Research, finishing his education in 1950. In 1951 he was drafted into the Army, and decommissioned in 1953.

Photography career

Erwitt served as a photographer's assistant in the 1950s in the United States Army while stationed in France and Germany. He was influenced by meeting the famous photographers Edward Steichen, Robert Capa and Roy Stryker. Stryker, the former Director of the Farm Security Administration's photography department, hired Erwitt to work on a photography project for the Standard Oil Company. He then began a freelance photographer career and produced work for Collier's, Look, Life and Holiday. Erwitt was invited to become a member of Magnum Photos by the founder Robert Capa. [2]

One of the subjects Erwitt has frequently photographed in his career is dogs: they have been the subject of four of his books, Son of Bitch (1974), Dog Dogs (1998), Woof (2005), and Elliott Erwitt's Dogs (2008).[3]

Erwitt has created an alter ego, the beret-wearing and pretentious "André S. Solidor" (which abbreviates to "ass") — "a contemporary artist, from one of the French colonies in the Caribbean, I forget which one" — in order to "satirise the kooky excesses of contemporary photography." His work was published in a book, The Art of André S. Solidor (2009), and exhibited in 2011 at the Paul Smith Gallery in London.[3][4]

Erwitt was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and an honorary fellowship (HonFRPS) in 2002 in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography.[5] and the International Center for Photography's Infinity Award, Lifetime Achievement category, in 2011.[6]

Filmmaking career

Since the 1970s, he has devoted much of his energy toward movies. His feature films, television commercials, and documentary films include Arthur Penn: the Director (1970), Beauty Knows No Pain (1971), Red, White and Bluegrass (1973) and the prize-winning Glassmakers of Herat, Afghanistan (1977). He was, as well, credited as camera operator for Gimme Shelter (1970), still photographer for Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (2005), and provided addition photography for Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (2009).[7]

A collection of Erwitt's films were screened in 2011 as part of the DocNYC Festival's special event "An Evening with Elliott Erwitt".

Exhibitions

Notable photographs

Books

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elliott Erwitt.
  1. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/dec/27/photography
  2. ↑ Moakley, Paul. "Elliott Erwitt's Very Own Personal Best". TIME Magazine.
  3. 1 2 Cripps, Charlotte (10 February 2011). "A drastic change of image: Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt has crafted a glorious alter ego". The Independent. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  4. ↑ "Who is André S. Solidor?". The Week. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  5. ↑ Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Award
  6. ↑ "Infinity Awards 2011". International Center for Photography. Retrieved 16 March 2014. Lifetime Achievement: Elliott Erwitt
  7. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1268351/
  8. ↑ "Elliott Erwitt: Personal Best". International Center of Photography.
  9. ↑ "New Orleans : Elliott Erwitt, Black & White and Kolor". L'oeil de la Photographie.
  10. ↑ "Exhibition Presents Unprecedented Study of Renowned Photographer Elliott Erwitt's Life and Work". University of Texas Austin News.

External links

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