I love his work! Find it baffling that it — and he — aren’t well known. A reason can be gleaned from the excellent documentary: he was self-effacing, didn’t seek out the spotlight. Still, it’s a mystery why his work never garnered any attention from the museum and art world.
Yes, always found it puzzling myself! I thought perhaps it was being celebrated in some venue I just wasn't aware of. Certainly, some kind of retrospective book/major exhibition is in order... at the very least.
Just watched this film on Amazon Prime… totally worth the $4.99 rental fee!!! I had never heard of James Hamilton but it was real eye opener and loved the new discovery!
Thanks Andy for pointing us in the right direction!!
Re: the loss of subscribers - the irony is, presumably those unsubscribers voted for the candidate who won. We know about sore losers, but being a sore winner...I mean, come on.
Every week I would rifle through the pages of the Village Voice to get to James Hamilton's photos- they were a masterclass in environmental portraiture! Unfortunately, one leaves this movie without a sense of his best work. I would have never thought he was all that just from watching this flick, not that it's inherently bad, we just never get to see what made him truly superlative. He also somehow, seemingly managed to squeeze more tonal values into his photos than any other photograph reproduced on newspaper quality reproduction. A master craftsman and artist who could make every millimeter of a photograph count, the epitome of "it's not the camera, but the person behind it." He made the most of every given subject and photographic situation with a minimalist's genius.
I love his work! Find it baffling that it — and he — aren’t well known. A reason can be gleaned from the excellent documentary: he was self-effacing, didn’t seek out the spotlight. Still, it’s a mystery why his work never garnered any attention from the museum and art world.
Yes, always found it puzzling myself! I thought perhaps it was being celebrated in some venue I just wasn't aware of. Certainly, some kind of retrospective book/major exhibition is in order... at the very least.
I'm really looking forward to watching this movie; I wish I could be at the screening.
Just watched this film on Amazon Prime… totally worth the $4.99 rental fee!!! I had never heard of James Hamilton but it was real eye opener and loved the new discovery!
Thanks Andy for pointing us in the right direction!!
Wonderful! I'm glad you liked it, Laura.
Re: the loss of subscribers - the irony is, presumably those unsubscribers voted for the candidate who won. We know about sore losers, but being a sore winner...I mean, come on.
Every week I would rifle through the pages of the Village Voice to get to James Hamilton's photos- they were a masterclass in environmental portraiture! Unfortunately, one leaves this movie without a sense of his best work. I would have never thought he was all that just from watching this flick, not that it's inherently bad, we just never get to see what made him truly superlative. He also somehow, seemingly managed to squeeze more tonal values into his photos than any other photograph reproduced on newspaper quality reproduction. A master craftsman and artist who could make every millimeter of a photograph count, the epitome of "it's not the camera, but the person behind it." He made the most of every given subject and photographic situation with a minimalist's genius.