
All photos by Max Cook
It would be an understatement to say that the Corcoran Gallery of Art has had an impressive track record over the past few years, hosting art exhibits that have been inspirational, education, and just downright beautiful. Between the Annie Leibovitz, Richard Avedon, Edward Burtynsky, and Eadward Muybridge exhibits, I’ve walked away from the gallery with a sense of wonderment and a better understanding of the artist, not to mention a better appreciation of their art.
That’s not to say that I’ve been impressed with every exhibit on display at the Corcoran. While I had high hopes in viewing the William Eggleston exhibit and understanding why his work is held in such high regard in the photography world, I was less than impressed. My feeling was that he was an artist that did something first, but not necessarily best, and that is sometimes enough to carve a name for yourself. In fact, even though Eggleston is known as one of the early adopters of color film, I found that I preferred many of his black and white photos to his color shots.
But if art was loved by everyone, none of it would be good. This week I was fortunate to be part of a tour of the Corcoran’s latest exhibit, Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration, given by none other than the legendary artist himself. While I found Leibovitz to be somewhat annoyed with the press and anxious to leave, Close was gracious, patient, and answered any questions that were asked of him. I will always remember something that he said, and that is that we learn more from things that we don’t like than from things that we do like, which may mean that for me, viewing the Eggleston exhibit was more important that I had once thought.
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