THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY exhibition features a selection of iconic images, compiled by pioneering collector and gallerist Peter Fetterman which celebrate the photograph’s unique capacity for sensibility. Peter has been championing the photographic arts for over 40 years. He runs one of the leading fine art photography galleries in the world with a special emphasis on humanist photography. During the long months of lockdown, Peter exhibited one photograph per day, online, accompanied by inspirational text, quotes and poetry. This digital collection of over 600 images struck a chord with followers from around the world. Now a deluxe book featuring 120 images from the online series has been printed in Italy and published by ACC Art Books.
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This exhibition presents a carefully curated selection of 80 outstanding origninal prints from the series, along with Peter’s insightful words. These works offer an inspiring overview of the medium while paying homage to masters of the art. From the bizarre Boschian fantasies of Melvin Sokolsky to the haunting humanity of Ansel Adams’s family portraits; to the joyful everyday scenes of Evelyn Hofer; from rare interior shots by famed nude photographer Ruth Bernhard to Bruce Davidson’s wistful depiction of young men playing ballgames on a street; this exhibition gathers some of the most unique and heartening photographs from the 20th century. Each image is a time capsule, offering us a glimpse into days gone past. Yet, each photograph also speaks of tranquillity, peace, and hope for the future.
Born in London, Peter Fetterman, initially a filmmaker and collector, has helmed the Peter Fetterman Gallery in Santa Monica, CA, for over 35 years. He is the author of The Power of Photography to be released May 2022, published by ACC Art Books. He is also the author of Woman A Celebration (2003) published by Chronicle Books, and Cornell Capa (2002).
The traveling exhibition will be available through 2025. The exhibition and musuem tour are being managed by Photographic Traveling Exhibitions. Los Angeles, CA.
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WILLY RONIS France, 1910–2009
Carrefour Sevres-Babylone, 1948 |
I never went out without my camera, even to buy bread.
- Willy Ronis |
I consider this image to be the best example of that special “Paris Light”, a phenomenon I always enjoy experiencing. It was taken one afternoon in 1948, near the intersection at Sevres-Babylone. Ronis had done his homework. Acquainted with his beloved city like the back of his hand, he knew what time of day offered the best opportunity for generous light, especially his preferred source, back light. The composition is perfection, with the awning on the left side of the frame and the veiled sun in front. As Ronis recounted in his notes:
“I had taken two shots with little enthusiasm and then suddenly this woman appeared out in the open. Jubilation was immediately followed by a twinge of unease, as is always the case in these delicate situations. Had I pressed the shutter at the crucial moment?”
The answer is indisputable. Of course he had. |
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ARTHUR LEIPZIG
USA, 1918–2014
Chalk games, NewYork City, 1950 |
Of course, the ‘good old days’ were not all sweetness and light.
There was poverty, racism, corruption and violence, then as now, but somehow we all believed in the possible. We believed in hope.
- Arthur Leipzig |
Arthur Leipzig shot this image, in Prospect Place, Brooklyn. Leipzig was a product of the Photo League, a group of idealistic photographers who wanted to use the medium of photography to make the world a better place. Concerned with social justice, Photo League members were
mostly the adult children of working-class immigrants and, like Leipzig, familiar and empathetic to their young subjects.
His work is full of warmth, emotion and sensitivity.
Leipzig so deftly captured the vitality and energy of New York youth, back when the streets were one of the few places where children could escape their cramped and restricted home lives. He approached New York as if it were theatre, where there was something going on all the time. He wanted to be both part of, and witness to, the action. |
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LOUIS STETTNER
USA, 1922–2016
Girl playing in light circles, Penn Station, N.Y., 1956 |
I photograph the world around me. This is what I feel. The joy, the love, the pleasure that is in life.
- Louis Stettner |
Stettner divided most of his creative life between New York and Paris. Brooklyn made him who he was, but Paris made him into the poet he became. It was a unique honour to visit Stettner in France. He was a true original. Tough and combative on the outside but a gentle soul on the inside, Stettner was a big bear of a man, almost biblical in appearance. The value of this image is increased exponentially by the fact that the original Penn Station is now just a memory. A moving image of a New York past. |
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