Provincetown, 1977

Provincetown, 1977

P Town [written on verso]; The Table

titled by cataloguer

Meyerowitz, Joel

photographer

born 1938

American

1977; printed c. 1977

chromogenic color print; color photograph

work

chromogenic color print

photographic paper

chromogenic processes; color photography

27.94 x 35.56 cm (11 x 14 inches)

19.36 x 24.45 cm (7 5/8 x 9 5/8 inches)

27.94 x 35.56 cm (11 x 14 inches)

2017.012.028

2017.012.028

2017.012.028.jpg

Copyright. 1977. Joel Meyerowitz

The photograph captures a hot, calm day on Cape Cod. We feel the motionless air in the homogenous band of gray sky above an expanse of flat ocean and the sun reflecting on the bright white balcony and table. The filigree ironwork and glass-top of the table contrast with the rough gray planks of the cottage balcony. The glass table recalls the still ocean with "water as smooth as glass," a classic Meyerwitz visual pun. This vintage chromogenic print reflects a shift in color that is natural for color photographic works from the early 1980's. The color shift is recognized as a part of the unique nature of such images.

Joel Meyerowitz

verso

Joel Meyerowitz, Provincetown, 1977 / P Town [in ink]

verso

Joel Meyerowitz is a nationally and internationally known photographer with over 350 exhibitions and many major awards. He began working as a "street" photographer in the early 1960's. Born in New York City in 1938, he "began taking photographs in 1962. Although he has always seen himself as a street photographer in the tradition of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank (he is the co-author of the standard work on the genre, Bystander: A History of Street Photography, 1994) he transformed the mode with his pioneering use of color. As an early advocate of color photography (mid-60’s), Meyerowitz was instrumental in changing the attitude toward the use of color photography from one of resistance to nearly universal acceptance" (http://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/joel-meyerowitz). While early in his career he worked in 35mm black and white, he now works exclusively in color with an 8 x 10-inch view camera. Meyerowitz says that his work has gravitated toward two poles, "one using the small camera and instantaneous responses, and the other with a view camera and a slow caring, meditative look at places" (Creating a Sense of Place / Photographs of Joel Meyerowitz, p. 61). He has authored 21 books, including Cape Light (1978) which is considered a classic work of color photography. His work has been collected by many major public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York City; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City.

seascape; balcony; tables

www.joelmeyerowitz.com; http://www.howardgreenberg.com/artists/joel-meyerowitz; Westerbeck, Colin & Meyerowitz, "Bystander: A History of Photography," Chapter 20, Still Going, pp 373-392. Bullfinch Press: Little Brown and Company, 1994 and 2001; Meyerowitz, Joel; Sullivan, Constance and Susan Weiley, eds. Creating a Sense of Place / Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990.

Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art. State University of New York at New Paltz (New Paltz, New York, United States)

Photography Collection. Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art

http://hvvacc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/sdma/id/5064

contemporary (generic time frame);

Contemporary (style of art);

Gift of Howard and Ellen Greenberg

http://hvvacc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/sdma/id/5064