Beyond the Street: Garry Winogrand Photographs Austin in the 1970s
GARRY WINOGRAND: ALL THINGS ARE PHOTOGRAPHABLE opens Friday, October 26 at AFS Cinema. Buy tickets.
Garry Winogrand rejected the term “street photography.” He would explain in a thick Bronx accent, “I don’t think it tells you anything about a photographer or work, in a way . . . call me instead a zoo photographer, it doesn’t make any sense to me.” While a lot of Winogrand’s pictures were taken in the metropolitan depths of New York or Los Angeles, he sought to break away from narrow distinctions like “street photography” or “documentary photography” or “photojournalism.” His work, along with the work of his contemporaries, marked a shift from mere documentary into the world of fine art—but in his own words, he aimed to “transform the real world into something completely different: into a distinct image.”
To that end, he didn’t confine his photography to the literal street. Beyond the shots of businessmen, shopkeepers, and other bodies in motion surrounded by concrete and brick were forays into the outskirts. One such outskirt was Austin, where Winogrand spent a brief period teaching photography at the University of Texas (1973-78). The incredibly prolific photographer began shooting as soon as he landed, taking pictures of people waiting for their flights in the Austin airport.
Winogrand’s visit yielded a handful of pictures that succinctly captured the spirit of the city. Past the airport, the photographer goes out into football country, documenting a Longhorns game.
Farther still, Winogrand captures a moment at Hippie Hollow—a more naturalistic setting than downtown New York.
Sasha Waters Freyer, director of the new Winogrand documentary GARRY WINOGRAND: ALL THINGS ARE PHOTOGRAPHABLE, attests that the photographer understood the voyeuristic nature of all street photography, and through his framing of information, characters, and tension “he sort of advance[d] the medium by taking this tool of journalism and doing something totally different with it.” It’s safe to say Winogrand is not done surprising us yet, as he left behind thousands and thousands of undeveloped film rolls—all waiting to give us another glimpse into his world.
GARRY WINOGRAND: ALL THINGS ARE PHOTOGRAPHABLE opens October 26th at AFS Cinema. Get your tickets here.
- Contributed by Harold Urteaga
