Garry Winogrand's Carousels of Color

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (Coney Island), 1952-58. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. Â© The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (New York), 1967. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University ofArizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (Cape Cod), 1966. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (New York), 1960. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (Texas), 1964. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (Texas State Fair), 1964. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Garry Winogrand (American, 1928-1984). Untitled (New York), circa 1965. 35mm color slide. Collection of the Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

Installation view, Garry Winogrand: Color, May 3, 2019 - December 8, 2019. Brooklyn Museum. (Photo: Jonathan Dorado)

The first exhibition dedicated to Garry Winogrand’s rarely seen color photographs is on view at the Brooklyn Museum. Though, until now, almost exclusively known for his black and white photographs that embodied a “snapshot aesthetic,” Winongrand also produced more than 45,000 color slides in the 1950s and 60s. “‘Garry Winogrand: Color’ is an exciting opportunity to rethink not only the work of an influential artist but also the history of color photography,” says curator Drew Sawyer.

The exhibition’s ambitious installation features 17 large-scale projections comprising more than 450 rotating images. Inside the dark and quiet gallery, the viewer is enveloped in the vivid photographs and transported to Coney Island, the streets of New York City, Texas, and the nation’s highways, suburbs, airports, fairgrounds and national parks.

When he died unexpectedly at age 56, Winongrand left behind a massive estate that is only beginning to be explored. “Predicting the photographic practices of today, he photographed nearly everything,” says Sawyer. Winogrand, who came from a working-class background in the Bronx, didn’t have the resources to produce costly color prints. “Garry Winogrand: Color” allows a long overdue examination of an aspect of Winogrand’s career to which he was deeply committed.

“Garry Winogrand: Color”
Brooklyn Musuem
Through December 8, 2019