Wednesday 22.05.13

SVA (School of Visual Arts) Theatre

333 West 23rd Street, New York, United States

Opening Time: 7pm

Admission: Free and open to the public

Telephone: 212.592.2980

RSVP: info@deardavemagazine.com

“I spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way. Being ignored is a great privilege. That is how I think I learnt to see what others do not see and to react to situations differently. I simply looked at the world, not really prepared for anything.”

On Wednesday the 22nd of May photographer Saul Leiter, who is best known for his colour photography, will be discussing his photographic work with Vince Aletti, an accomplished photography critic and reviewer for the New Yorker, at the School of Visiual Arts Theatre.

Leiter’s photographic journey began when he started recording moments of urban life in both colour and black & white in the 1940s New York. Yet having had no formal training his early work was quickly spotted by Edward Steichen, resulting in two significant MoMA shows in the 1950s. Only over the last few years has Leiter received recognition for his role as one of the pioneers of colour photography, as he was one of the first, alongside photographers like William Eggleston and Stephen Shore to use colour photography for artistic work.

In a Lens Culture article about Saul Leiter it revealed some interesting stories about this photographer: At the press conference in Paris, Leiter confided that he often purchased inexpensive colour film that was past its expiration date: he loved to be surprised by the odd shifts in colour that would result. He also told funny stories about Robert Frank and his friend Diane Arbus. “Robert complained to me one morning over breakfast at the L&M that he was going back to Switzerland because there was nothing interesting to photograph in America!” (at this point Leiter pauses to laugh) “Then he went out and made The Americans!” Leiter also recounted how he turned down Steichen’s invitation to participate in the now-famous Family of Man exhibition: “It seemed to me that that exhibition was less about photography, and more about things that I wasn’t sure of.”

This talk is presented by Dear Dave, magazine as part of their ongoing series of conversations on contemporary photography.