“(An) after-hours view of the artist feels raw and disturbingly intimate.
It’s a glimpse of a profound unease that may explain, a little,
the nagging strangeness of his art: its restlessness, its eerie stillness,
the hung-over brightness of its colors…
WILLIAM EGGLESTON IN THE REAL WORLD…
casts more light than you expect, and deeper shadows.”
– Terrence Rafferty, The New York Times

“The still-hobbled American South is thoroughly reflected
in Mr. Eggleston’s work and persona…
He assiduously collects shards that suggest a broken past,
a tormented present, a weird future…
In this accomplished look at a storied career, he instructs, without words -
how to see all that is hauntingly familiar.“
– Ned Martel, The New York Times

“William Eggleston is a true original, with a hawk’s eye for imagery,
a steel gut for liquor and muttering speech akin to that of William S. Burroughs…
He is an alchemist who turns the ordinary into revelation.
Riveting!“
– Stephen Garrett, Time Out NY

In 1976, William Eggleston’s hallucinatory, Faulknerian images were featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s first one-man exhibition of color photographs. He has been called “the beginning of modern color photography” (John Szarkowski, MoMA) and “one of the most significant figures in contemporary photography” (Charles Hagen, NY Times). It is rare for an artist of such stature to allow himself to be shown as unguardedly as Eggleston does in Michael Almereyda’s intimate portrait. The filmmaker tracks the photographer on trips to Kentucky, Los Angeles and New York, but gives particular attention to downtime in Memphis, Eggleston’s home base. The film shows a deep connection between Eggleston’s enigmatic personality and his groundbreaking work, and also reveals his parallel commitments as a musician, draftsman and videographer. A sphinx-like renegade, Eggleston at age 65 has become an icon and inspiration to artists worldwide.

Links:

• Official site of William Eggleston and the Eggleston Artistic Trust.
• Cheim & Read - William Eggleston: Nightclub Portraits, 1973 (exhibit through 9/2/05)
• The films of Michael Almereyda

Available at Amazon:

WILLIAM EGGLESTON: POSTCARD BOX