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Thread: Why prints so small ?

  1. #11

    Re: Why prints so small ?

    exhibition catalogues are by definition scientific documents, i leafed through this publication and the pictures you refer to are if i remember his early ones and they are reproduced 1/1, which is deemed correct for this type of publication.

    a better mongraph on kertesz, i think, is "His Life and Work" by Pierre Borhan.

    adrian

  2. #12

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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Kertesz is sufficiently canonical that there is as much interest in the photographer as in his photographs. It makes sense to see the photographs as he would have experienced them himself. This is especially true of a photographer like Kertesz, whose photographs have a strong formal aesthetic element, because the interaction with the frame and the interplay between the parts and the whole can both change dramatically with print size.

    The waters are muddied by the the fact that Kertesz seems to photographed with magazine publication as the intended end product, in which case he was presumably striving for compositions which would work well at full, half and quarter page size. All the same, in an exhibition devoted to him as a photographer it is useful to see what he saw.

    Incidentally, the Kertesz Polaroids book is one of the favourites on my shelves. Dramatically beautiful and contemplative at the same time.

  3. #13
    Scott Davis
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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    When Kertesz was young, he had a small folder for a camera and did not have the money and/or space for an enlarger, so he made contact prints of his negatives. This was part of a retrospective exhibit on Kertesz at the National Gallery of Art a few years ago. It was not per-se a conscious choice on his part to limit his print sizes to very small prints, but an accommodation of reality.

  4. #14

    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Struan Gray View Post
    Incidentally, the Kertesz Polaroids book is one of the favourites on my shelves. Dramatically beautiful and contemplative at the same time.
    DITTO- all made in his home, incredible!

  5. #15

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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    I'm not familiar with a Kertesz Polaroid book. What is the title? Thanks.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  6. #16

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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Would you believe, "André Kertész: The Polaroids" :-)

    http://www.amazon.com/André-Kertész-.../dp/0393065642

    PS: there's a book tease on photoeye: http://photoeye.com/bookstore/mShowD...TOKEN=54448153

  7. #17

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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Thanks, Struan. The book tease satisfies my interest.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  8. #18

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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Considering the prices classic photographs by the old masters bring these days, it wouldn't shock me to learn that they were just cut out of a contact sheet somewhere along the line.

    Part of the reason for the vogue of big photographs is just that for the first time it's feasible to make them big. In the old darkroom days a 4' x 5' print was a virtual impossibility. Clyde Butcher used to make them that size in his darkroom but he had huge vats for the chemicals. Today there are any number of labs that are set up to make huge prints digitally and it doesn't even have to be all that expensive.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  9. #19
    mandoman7's Avatar
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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    I have a good friend that runs a gallery that moves a lot of paintings in our area, and working with her I've learned some things relative to the size question. Most of her business comes from wealthy clients who need to fill wall space, to put it simply. If the other factors are in order; the resume, the exhibition history, the appeal of the piece in question, then the price of a larger size is almost preferrable for these characters (pre-recession, of course). Corporate offices, Big Ego houses, etc.... the average Joe doesn't spend a lot on art in america unfortunately.
    John Youngblood
    www.jyoungblood.com

  10. #20
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Re: Why prints so small ?

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Davis View Post
    When Kertesz was young, he had a small folder for a camera and did not have the money and/or space for an enlarger, so he made contact prints of his negatives. This was part of a retrospective exhibit on Kertesz at the National Gallery of Art a few years ago. It was not per-se a conscious choice on his part to limit his print sizes to very small prints, but an accommodation of reality.
    After finishing the reading book in question, I learned that indeed he didn't have access to an enlarger during his youth (this is mentioned in the last chapter). However, he often revisited his work and consistently had earlier prints enlarged, so the enlarged version appears to be his preference. It sure is mine, as I prefer not to have to use a loupe to view prints. I still think a 4x5 inch is (barely) OK, but anything smaller does a disservice to the photograph.

    As an aside it appears Kertesz had wadded a bit in LF photography (maybe for his commercial architectural work). There is a self portrait of him holding a view camera.

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