Deutsch
English
"On a pilgrimage to visit William EGGLESTON in Memphis, Tennessee, the two well-known photographers who collaborate here under the pseudonym 'Obvious & Ordinary' (Martin PARR & John GOSSAGE) present their respective mundane visual snippets of 'America,' with both brashness and humility.
Although some of the work nods toward EGGLESTON's, the distinct aesthetic sensibilities of these two artists come through loud and clear. In an effort to foreground the photographs rather than the personalities, 'Obvious & Ordinary' wish to remain unnamed.
Yet the saturated color close-ups of garish food and consumer culture, together with the moody taciturn black-and-white views of decaying cities and suburban detritus, taken respectively by a Briton and an American known for these very types of images, makes it easy to figure out the source of the imagery.
Obvious' saturated, bellowing color, paired with Ordinary's rich and understated black and white, somehow complement one another, their distinctive stylistic signatures winning out over any particular shared interests. What's more important, however, is the conceptual gesture of the photographs and the book itself, which manages to be humble in stature, but rich in content.
In this sense, 'America 2006' promises to become a classic of vernacular subject matter." (publisher's note, © Stephen Daiter Gallery & Rocket Gallery, 2007)
Although some of the work nods toward EGGLESTON's, the distinct aesthetic sensibilities of these two artists come through loud and clear. In an effort to foreground the photographs rather than the personalities, 'Obvious & Ordinary' wish to remain unnamed.
Yet the saturated color close-ups of garish food and consumer culture, together with the moody taciturn black-and-white views of decaying cities and suburban detritus, taken respectively by a Briton and an American known for these very types of images, makes it easy to figure out the source of the imagery.
Obvious' saturated, bellowing color, paired with Ordinary's rich and understated black and white, somehow complement one another, their distinctive stylistic signatures winning out over any particular shared interests. What's more important, however, is the conceptual gesture of the photographs and the book itself, which manages to be humble in stature, but rich in content.
In this sense, 'America 2006' promises to become a classic of vernacular subject matter." (publisher's note, © Stephen Daiter Gallery & Rocket Gallery, 2007)
- Format
- Pb. (no dust jacket, as issued), approx. 25 x 28 x 1 cm. (10-3/4 x 8-1/2 in.), 72 pp., 36 color & 36 b/w ills., This first edition was limited to 750 copies in the US and 750 copies in Europe.