Surprises are, by their very definition, unexpected. I had not anticipated an encounter with the work of a first-class photographer who was also new to me, as I made my way home through a part of north-west London that I visit infrequently.
Having completed a photoshoot in the locality, I was strolling towards Ladbroke Grove tube station, when I passed the window of the David Hill Gallery.
I was drawn in to look at the current exhibition by a colour image of a New York police officer (reproduced courtesy of the gallery above). At first glance the cop seems incidental to a somewhat cluttered photograph. However, the deep Sienna and umber colour blocks in the background and strong graphic composition cry out for a more considered scrutiny. It becomes clear that the officer has been pictured in the act of flicking his nightstick up and catching it as he whiles away the hours of his patrol. It is a picture that I could return to look at repeatedly.
The exhibition features a selection of the American photographs taken by Werner Bischof, a Swiss photographer who became the first person to be invited to become, an associate (1948) and shortly after, a full member (1949) of the celebrated Magnum Photos Agency.
Bischof Studied in Zurich before opening a photography and advertising design studio. His first photo essays were published in 1943 before he went on to enhance his reputation with images showing the impact and devastation caused by World War 2. Commissions to produce documentary images for the major pictorial magazines followed, although, I understand that his prime interest was recording the nuances of traditional societies and cultures rather than shots pandering to picture editor pleasing brash sensationalism.
In 1953, after working in India, Japan and other countries in the Far East, Bischof turned his attentions to the United States, producing the work, a selection of which makes up this show.
On starting to look at the other images I initially dismissed a couple as being strong but almost commonplace examples of Americana, not particularly special and being somewhat stock. Such snap judgements can be crass and unhelpful though and it is important to consider and reflect with more care.
I noticed that they had been shot well over 60 years ago in 1953, in colour (Kodachrome transparency film). Bischof was photographing urban environments from New York to San Francisco and Chicago down to Georgia a couple of years before Robert Frank received his Guggenheim grant to roam far and wide to begin to take the vast body of over 27,000 photographs that were eventually distilled down to a final 83 that appear in the classic 1950s photobook, ‘The Americans’ (1958).
The current exhibition is made up of 21 colour images and a further 11, all taken in New York City, in black and white. The colour palate is a range of deeply saturated tones and Bischof makes the most of strong golden hour light with an avoidance of the harshness of mid-day. Only three of the colour pictures feature people as their key subjects, with one which shows a painter working on the Golden Gate Bridge rivalling and arguably surpassing the shot which includes the cop. A third, capturing the steel beams which will soon support a highway, shows construction workers dwarfed by, yet standing atop the mighty infrastructure that they are engaged in creating.
All of the pictures, both colour and black and white, suggest that Bischof had a strong understanding of graphic composition. They also seem to disclose a love of the transitory states caused by shadows and reflections. Viewed both individually and as a body they take us to an America that is familiar, though given the many years that have passed since their creation, greatly transformed. However, their rich, striking hues endow them with a freshness that defies passing time and still looks relatively contemporary.
Sadly, Bischof died in a road accident, while working on a film in Peru, shortly after creating these works. It seems clear that his untimely death in 1954 robbed posterity of later works from a photographer who is likely to have extended his reputation and place among the greats.
I thoroughly enjoyed my short visit to the gallery although my pockets are not sufficiently well enough lined to enable me carry away anything other than the exhibition card and the memory. The owner, David Hill was in attendance and could not have been more welcoming. I will definitely return to this exhibition before it ends and will ensure that I am informed of forthcoming openings at 345 Ladbroke Grove.
I have obtained permission to reproduce the card featuring the image of the police officer courtesy of the gallery. Copyright is owned © Werner Bischof Estate / Magnum Photos.
Werner Bischof is a photographer who is well-worth seeking out, so try not to miss this opportunity. The exhibition is closed during the month of August 2019 but re-opens from from 4th September through to 20th September.
1st July 2019.
