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Photographer Joel Meyerowitz has a brand new exhibit that photographers won’t want to miss — and that many may even take for granted. In the artistic sense, color photography never used to be taken very seriously. But Joel Meyerowitz is one of the first that started to change the minds of so many people. To that end, he paved the way for so many of us who otherwise just come to expect something to be the norm. His color photography is the focus of a new gallery exhibit at Huxley Parlour, where it can be studied and looked at for what it is — a pioneering take on fine art photography.
All images by Joel Meyerowitz. Used with permission of HUXLEY-PARLOUR. Please be sure to visit the gallery exhibit from January 18 to March 24, 2024. Check out Joel’s website as well.
The Joel Meyerowitz: Dialogues Exhibit at Huxley Parlour
The exhibit looks at some of his street photography and his Cape Light series work. In it, you’ll find photographs that Huxley Parlour describes as having an American aesthetic. While it doesn’t feel very Americana, it surely feels like scenes that you only see within the USA. But more importantly, it shows how color is used strategically to tell a story — and many of the images are of scenes that we’d probably just mull over or take advantage of today.
Joel’s work follows a simple formula of photographing scenes with simple colors. In several photos, there are no more than three primary colors, making it easier for the human mind to take in the scene. It’s a tactic mirrored by so many photographers even today. The images also have a very painterly aspect to them, using techniques like a Dutch angle that make us stare even more at the photographs. Because of the Dutch angle perspective, lots of the images don’t meet the contemporary mental model. This means that our mind tries to straighten the scenes to make some sort of order of it. Call it an OCD tendency, but that’s how the human mind works. Instead, the angles lead to chaos that causes us to pay attention to something as if it were right in front of us.
At Huxley Parlour, we’re told that you’ll see lots of Meyerowitz’s more famous works alongside lesser-known photographs of his.
What You Don’t Put in the Frame Matters
We’ve featured work from Joel before in the past, and here are some lessons that we’ve learned from him
It’s easy to see how what you have in your frame is largely what comprises your photograph, but don’t be quick to dismiss what you chose not to include in it as well. “What you put in and what you leave out are what determines the meaning or potential of your photograph,” Meyerowitz reminded. “But you must continue to keep in mind that there’s plenty of stuff off-stage, and what bearing the rest of the off-stage have on this.”
JOEL MEYEROWITZ ON CREATING UNSPOKEN CONNECTIONS IN HIS STREET SNAPS
You can read the rest of that article right here. We’ve also reviewed his Masterclass and one of his books: Where I Find Myself. Transparently, the book is an excellent collection of images put together in a way that’s worth throwing the book into the ocean. That’s because of the various splits down the middle of the images. Thankfully, you won’t get that at the exhibit.
If you’re in London, we strongly recommend that you go check it out while it’s up.
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