What makes this Eggleston picture great?

Question

Being a little provocative here, I actually like the picture, but...

It is just a rusty toy, you can find one like it almost everywhere. OK, the perspective is a bit unusual, but the framaing is not flawless, we can see a bit of a car in the right. Besides that, what else do we have here? If I hadn't seen The Shining the picture would be more pointless to me.

Is it a piece of art just because we know the photographer who made it is an artist? It is quite easy to make a shot that looks alike, while all the real visual art before the 20th century actually required some serious technical skills.

Picture taken from http://www.mobrules.net/?attachment_id=756

BTW: Who came first Kubrick or Eggleston?

Asked by Paolo

Answer

I think the popularity of that image comes from its historical context. Up to then, the most highly regarded photographic work was black and white. Ansel Adams landscapes for example. Eggleston took images of everyday things, and in color. Reminds me of Andy Warhol, whom he seems to have been affiliated with.

He seems to have influenced a lot of other American photographers like Stephen Shore and John Baeder, with their shots of diners, road signs, rusty cars and other ordinary scenes.

This image makes me smile. Maybe the perspective, looking up, not at a mountain, but a tricycle! I don't really think it's about composition. It's possibly thumbing your nose at the art establishment of the time?

Answered by MikeW

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