Colour Photography, in Boring Daily Subject Matter?

or we can use the a better title "ordinary subject matter"?

There is no doubt one of the "Watershed" moment in the history of photography was William Eggleston's solo exhibition at MOMA in 1976. It is the first time for the colour photography to become so important that can held by major art museum like MOMA. What People can see from that exhibition were not only the photograph in colour, but also William Eggleston's super "Ordinary" subject matter from his pictures.

William Eggleston

As one of the first fighter who fight for the "New Colour Photography Movement" in the 70s, William shows people his pictures in the super un-real bright colour, and the same time also shows people that he don't care about the traditional and focus only on his "Ordinary" subject matter. Some other photographers, like Steven shore, who also had held his colour photo exhibition at Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1971, which is few years before William Eggleston. But because by the way of the “formal compositions” he used of his pictures in this exhibition had so much related to the social documentary style photographers such as Robert Frank, Walker Evans and Garry Winogrand, this exhibition didn't make so much noise as William Eggleston's in few years later. And this tell us people get shocked in that time were not only because of William Eggleston pictures in colour, but also his unique subject matter in his own photography.

"The Red Ceiling", by William Eggleston

"The Red Ceiling" is so powerful that, in fact, I've never seen it reproduced on the page to my satisfaction. When you look at a dye-transfer print it's like it's red blood that is wet on the wall. The photograph was like a Bach exercise for me because I knew that red was the most difficult colour to work with. A little red is usually enough, but to work with an entire surface was a challenge. It was hard to do. I don't know of any totally red pictures, except in advertising. The photograph is still powerful. It shocks you every time.” 



William Eggleston explained the challenge behind the neutral gaze and obvious subject matter of this photograph.

And please don't forget photography in colour was a "cult" thing in that time, especially for the photography which will put in museum or a serious photo book. Colour photography only can be used for commercial and advertising purpose in that age, and most of the photographers in that time had also strongly disagreed for using colour in photography. Some even said that colour photography is vulgar and photography should only in black and white. Even Ansel Adams said this "Red Ceiling" picture was in deep red because of William Eggleston don't know how to took good pictures. So you see being a colour photographers in that time were not a easy thing at all.

Unknown Titled, by William Eggleston.

I think it is William Eggleston who made the "standard Of Old American Colour" for all time. Every time when I Imagine the old US in colour, it will always be in that colour, the colour with the Bright Blue, Deep Red, strong contrast but also can give you "soft feeling". We can see this colour photograph were mostly from the Kodakchrome film which is already dead today. And you know from the digital age it is nearly impossible to get the same feeling like from Kodakchrome, means this colour became a long gone history.

In the end please enjoy this documentary video for this great photographer.