# Review: Karch and Winogrand  both in Washington and both revealing.



## The_Traveler (Apr 2, 2014)

*Review: Karsh and Winogrand &#8211; both in Washington and both revealing.
*
 There are two exhibits here in Washington that every photographer must see &#8211; at least to understand the huge distance that spans 'people' photographers. One exhibit is the first of two separate shows of works by Yousuf Karsh, the famous Canadian portraitist that is at the National Portrait Gallery. The second is a major retrospective of the work of Gary Winogrand at the National Gallery of Art until June 8th when it goes to the Met in NYC.

 I love seeing lots of work by one artist in one place at one time. It gives me a chance to see how his/her style holds up across time and work and, more importantly, it allows me to see styles that persevere. Anyone can get lucky once and have a great piece to show, but to persist across time and content with greatness means that there is talent and creativity not just chance.

 The Karsh exhibit is in the North Hall at the National Portrait Gallery. Of course it is a beautifully lit space and, since I was there in March, most of the tourists were still huddled at home and the crowd was thin enough that you could stand and look ad lib.

 Karsh's work is so technically perfect that the fact one is looking at a posed portrait just fades and you see the subject as Karsh has posed them, in a stance and situation that usually informs the viewer of the specific energy of the person. Each portrait has a richness and detail that somehow ennobles the subject.

 My favorite of those shown is a portrait of painter , Georgia O'Keefe, who was the wife of Alfred Stieglitz the photographer. This work shows a rather austere but somehow gentle O'Keefe, sitting close to the door of a Southwestern style house. Above her head, sharing a large portion of the frame is a large deer skull and antlers, a motif found in many of O'Keefe's paintings of the Southwest.
Lew Lorton Photography | Winogrand&Karsh | Photo 2

This painting exhibits one of Karsh's favorite posing tricks, the emphasis on hands. In a large proportion of Karsh's portraits, the subject is posed and lit so that the clothes are subdued and unimportant while the hands are well-lit and share an emphasis with the head. That gives an impression of vigor and strength to the portraits.

 Interestingly Karsh's famous portrait of Hemingway  is a head and shoulders and, in my opinion, is much weaker for that, certainly less imposing andless meaningful than most of Karsh's other work. 

 The other show, and the one that really impressed me, was a retrospective of Garry Winogrand's work, 20 years after his death.
 Before you actually look at Winogrand pictures, get  a better perspective on Winogrand, by first reading an excellent article on this show by Phillip Kennicott, the arts critic at the Washington Post. In Garry Winogrand?s photos, an America of perpetual motion and bottomless hunger - The Washington Post .

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*the remainder of this review with embedded images can be read at Lew Lorton Photography | Review: Karsh and Winogrand ? both shows in Washington and both revealing.*


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## tirediron (Apr 2, 2014)

I would LOVE to see the Karsh show.  He is my portraiture "hero" and one of my two favorite photographers ever (the other being O. Winston Link), but Winogrand's work really does nothing for me.  Very interesting to see your take on it; thanks for sharing Lew.


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## The_Traveler (Apr 2, 2014)

I felt sort of the same way about Winogrand but spending time with his work really turned me into a fan.

The interesting thing about the Karsh work is that his stylistic 'tricks' become apparent when you see a bunch of them together.


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