Brakhage & Leiter: Cameras and Color in the City

Abstract

In this essay, I propose a contextualization of the presence and progressive democratization of cameras, taking as a starting point the historical development of photography. I then offer comments on the book Early Color by photographer Saul Leiter and on the film The Wonder Ring by filmmaker Stan Brakhage, reflecting on what is produced when we hold a camera in our hands and have the street, the city, and the other before us. I seek to situate these works within their technical, artistic, and historical contexts, devoting particular attention to New York City in the 1950s. Time emerges as a central issue in their poetics, considered here both through its inscription in the images and through the procedures that guide their practices: two artists moving through the city, carrying their color negatives, one with a 16mm camera, the other with a small 35mm camera. Drawing on an analysis of the works, as well as texts and statements by the artists themselves, I propose a reflection on different modes of conceiving the artwork, distinguishing between those who plan their works in advance and those who allow themselves to be guided by drawing, chance, and intuition. Finally, the text suggests formal affinities between the work of the photographer and the filmmaker and the paintings of their contemporary and fellow New Yorker, Mark Rothko.