Monday, July 09, 2007

John Szarkowski, Curator of Photography, Dies at 81
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"John Szarkowski, a curator who almost single-handedly elevated photography’s status in the last half-century to that of a fine art, making his case in seminal writings and landmark exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, died in on Saturday in Pittsfield, Mass. He was 81."

More can be found here: NY Times obituary

“It has been said…that photography is most at home with bad news. If there is a kernel of truth in this depressing accusation, it might related to Tolstoy’s outrageous calumny about happy families – that they are all alike, whereas each unhappy family is unique. The truth is that what we call happy families are not really alike, but art (unlike philosophy) does its work by citing the specific, rather than invoking general principles, and it does seem to be true that the specifics of bad news are easier to make use of artistically than the specifics of happiness.” --John Szarkowski

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