A Couple of Ways of Doing Something (Aperture, November 2006) is a stunning oversize volume featuring twenty extraordinary daguerreotype portraits by Chuck Close. Over the course of two years, Close worked closely with daguerreotype master Jerry Spagnoli to conquer the complexities of this venerable process, which yields images of astonishing detail and gravity. He photographed many of the same artist-friends who have made regular appearances in his paintings over the years: Laurie Anderson, Lyle Ashton Harris, Cecily Brown, Gregory Crewdson, Carroll Dunham, Ellen Gallagher, Philip Glass, Bob Holman, Elizabeth Murray, Elizabeth Peyton, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, James Siena, Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, James Turrell, Robert Wilson, Terry Winters, and Lisa Yuskavage as well as himself.
Lyrical praise poems by Bob Holman, a celebrated New York School poet, were commissioned to accompany each photograph. The poems are concise, witty, and beautifully typeset to reflect the personality and style of each person portrayed. As individual portraits, each image offers an intimate and immensely revealing study of the subject, extending the hyperrealist tradition of portraiture for which Close is renowned. With the counterpoint of Holman?s engaging poetry, the collected work becomes a transfixing group portrait of Close?s influential and highly creative circle of friends and colleagues, as well as an exploration of a challenging photographic medium. Lyle Rexer?s interview with Close and Holman offers a lively exploration of portraiture, of photography, and of creative collaboration.
Chuck Close is a renowned American painter, printmaker, and photographer. His 1998 traveling retrospective, organized by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, confirmed his place in the pantheon of major contemporary artists. His paintings, prints, and photographs, represented by PaceWildenstein in New York, are widely exhibited and collected.
Aperture?a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to advancing photography in all its forms?was founded in 1952 by six gifted individuals: photographers Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Barbara Morgan, and Minor White; historian Beaumont Newhall; and writer/curator Nancy Newhall. With scant resources, these visionary artists created a new periodical, Aperture magazine, to serve photographers and photography enthusiasts worldwide. As the medium flourished, so too did Aperture Foundation, expanding to include the subsequent publication of books (over four hundred to date); limited-edition photographs and portfolios; artist lectures and symposia; and a traveling exhibitions program that since its inception has presented over one hundred exhibitions at major museums and cultural institutions throughout the United States and abroad.
