Colour Before Color ~ curated by Martin Parr ~ at Hasted Hunt

Wednesday, 30 May 2007 23:58

New York City - HASTED HUNT is pleased to announce a very special exhibition, Colour Before Color, curated by Martin Parr. The show will be on view from June 7 to July 20, 2007. For Colour Before Color, Martin Parr has selected a group of European photographers who were working with color photography in the early 1970’s. These artists were producing work before or contemporaneous with William Eggleston in the US.

The six artists in Colour Before Color include Luigi Ghirri (Italian, 1943–1920), Keld Helmer-Peterson (Danish, b.1920), John Hinde (British, studio with Edmund Nägele, Elmar Ludwig, David Noble), Peter Mitchell (British), Carlos Pérez Siquier (Spanish, b. 1930), and Ed van der Elsken (Dutch, 1925-1990).

Martin Parr writes:

In the rather dysfunctional history of colour photography, the seminal exhibition by William Eggleston in 1976 at MOMA New York is often cited as the start of serious colour photography. This statement often riles and confuses many people, as colour photography had been around for 90 years. However, previous to Eggleston’s exhibition and book, colour work had predominately been associated with commercial or even snapshot photography. His show gave colour practice the status in the museum world that had previously eluded it.

It is quite significant that the American photography had become so institutionalized as it was this world, especially with the all-powerful John Szarkowski, that fueled the acceptance of colour work. We should also mention the work of Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld and Joel Meyerowitz who all contributed to the establishment and acceptance of colour photography in the 70s.

The purpose of the current exhibition is to demonstrate that an equally lively colour photography culture in Europe was operating both before and during the 70s. This work had been largely overlooked as it was not put together as a movement, nor was it promoted by high profile institutions.

The American colorists who became known in the 70s are now enjoying a renaissance, while the European pioneer equivalents remain relatively obscure.

More than 30 years after these images were produced, the language of colour photography that these photographers have employed is now very familiar. This exhibition gives a unique opportunity to re-assess the short and confused history of recent colour photography by showing the work of European pioneers who have been overlooked and eclipsed by their American counterparts.” _ Martin Parr, January 2007

In addition to the works on view in the large exhibition, there will be representative works by these artists in the gallery inventory. These are the US debuts for Siquier, Mitchell and the color work by van der Elsken. The Hasted Hunt exhibition will feature contemporary prints commissioned from the original negatives and will include works unfamiliar to the US audience and, in a number of cases, previously unavailable in any form.

Martin Parr is a well-known Magnum photographer as well as author and curator. He has a large retrospective show on tour in Europe. He co-authored (with Gerry Badger) The History of Photo Book, Vol.1 and Vol. 2 (Phaidon), and served as the Artistic Director for the 2004 Rencontres d’Arles in France where he included the Helmer-Peterson work.

For more information contact HASTED HUNT at : www.hastedhunt.com/