Walker Evans – “The Thing Itself is Such a Secret and so Unapproachable” (1974. “The Thing Itself is Such a Secret and so Unapproachable” George Eastman House, Image Magazine, Vol. 17., No.4, December, 1974, Originally Published in Yale Alumni Magazine, February, 1974.
Walker Evans, the eminent American photographer, who taught photography at Yale until his retirement several years ago, talks informally with today’s students about his life, his art and the mysteries of the creative process… W.E. – I guess I’m the only survivor of my age of the school of non-commercial and extremely self-virtuous young artists that I was when I was your age. We wouldn’t do anything we were asked to do, and we fought around it. Of course that kills most people. Yale: Could you tell us something about the experience of working with James Agee on the book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men?
W.E.: Oh yes. Incidentally, part of a photographer’s gift should be with people. Yale: Did it take long to overcome their nervousness? Yale: How long was it before any of the work was actually published? Q & A with Jeff Ladd. Jeff Ladd lives in New York City, where he is an active photographer as well as the author of 5b4 and a co-founder of Errata Editions.
His photos can be found online here, here, and here. B: Can you briefly trace your photographic path? When did you first become interested in it? Was there any special teacher or photographer who grabbed you initially? JL: My "path" in the medium was really stumbled upon. New York City, 2000, Jeff Ladd Once in school though I quickly became very dedicated while studying with Lois Conner, Joseph Lawton and Thomas Roma. B: Reading 5b4 and other examples of your writing, it's hard to imagine you were a bad student with no direction.
JL: Truthfully I barely graduated from high school. Lee Elickson, 1995, Jeff Ladd B: What is your process for making personal work? JL: The process itself is almost mechanical. Howard Beach, Brooklyn, 1991, Jeff Ladd B: Do you always have a camera with you or do you set aside dedicated blocks of time to shoot? B: How about this one? TONY RAY-JONES: “Photographs of America and England” (1968. Brighton Beach, England, 1966.
Originally Published in Creative Camera, Issue 52, October 1968 In an era of pop commerce, and out of the gimmick-ridden world of lucrative non-art, it is refreshing to discover a photographer who – by-passing the slick ploy of self-conscious fashion cult – has an eye for What Is. His hand does not finger the lining of his pocket in anxiety to feather his roost or to create a cultural dream. His eye is discerning and his shutter response swift. We should note that, as a photographer, he has nothing to sell. Tony walks in the realm of humanity, and he discovers in the everyday more than we would always admit or accept. In England he finds a cooler human climate, a more subtle play in the remains of a disintegrating empire-yet ignificance in the relationship of details which at first seem disparate. Primadonna Club on Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, 1971.
Tony Ray-Jones: “The pictures of the U.S. were taken from 1964 to 1965. (All rights reserved.