A lot of people were most interested in the physical works of Walker Evans in this assignment. This is obviously very reasonable and valid— we were viewing a collection of his beautiful photographs after all! Others seem to be rehashing basic biographical information about Evans—which I respectfully believe is not what people are interested in hearing. We can all easily find this information by doing a quick Google search or flipping to the first page of a library book. What I want to hear about (and what I assume most people do) is how the work or Lee’s lecture impacted or interested you. That is how I chose to respond to this assignment.
Of the exhibition and the lecture by Baldwin Lee, the thing that I found the most interesting, and even fascinating, were the thoughts Lee shared about the work and about Walker Evans himself. I was completely enthralled as soon as he started to speak- I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t someone so vibrant and passionate about Evans’ work or so articulate about the specifics of his photography and particular photographs. I loved being able to see the photos enlarged in full detail while Lee, who knows the work so intimately, described the intricacies of each photograph. When he was flipping through the two versions of the photo of Mrs. Burroughs, showing us the opening up of her eyes using the fill light, the slight upturn of the corners of her mouth, and describing the huge impact those tiny differences made… it was eye opening when I think of portrait photography in general, not to mention completely captivating when looking at those photos in particular. The photograph of Mr. Burroughs was equally beautiful as well. Knowing from Lee the trust Evans had to gain for that photograph to be taken makes it even more interesting. It seems as if you can see straight through to his soul when looking into his eyes. The quality of that photo was stunning to me—something to strive for.
I absolutely found the photographs themselves, and not just Baldwin Lee, to be beautiful and captivating. The quality of the images is part of what draws me to them. They are well printed, with contrast and sharpness that are gorgeous to behold. This brings me again to Lee, however, because of a funny story he told about Walker and his lack of concern for the technical aspects of photography. Lee joked about how some people assume that Evans was a great technician, when in fact he was quite the opposite! “He exposed the hell out of it” Lee said while laughing about one photo in particular (that he personally was tasked to print). He said something along the lines of “If you expose something for long enough with a bright enough light, you’re bound to get a picture!” I found this so intriguing and funny. Knowing this doesn’t diminish his work for me whatsoever, it’s just one more facet of a fascinating man. In the beginning of his lecture when Lee was talking about Evan’s level of intelligence and his knowledge that reached far beyond what an average person might know—it really changed how I thought about the work. Knowing that the picture of the silverware on the wall was not just taken to showcase poverty in combination with an interesting composition, for example, is quite eye opening. He thought about not just the fact that their silverware was unmatched and jammed in a board in the wall, but also about how the board had been moved up more than once to keep out of reach of children, and even further about the hardship it would put a family in to lose a simple fork or spoon. He may not have been a great technical shooter, but he was thoughtful and intelligent in the extreme, something that greatly adds to his photos (and that I only came to appreciate because of Lee’s words).
In the end I loved this exhibition and especially attending Baldwin Lee’s lecture. It has drawn me all the more close to the work of Walker Evan’s, and I hope to be lucky enough to have a similar experience with other artists and their confidants in the future.
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