Man with Bandage. Fred Herzog. 1968
Where has Fred Herzog been all my life? Vancouver I guess... It seems they have been keeping a tight lid on the breath-taking work of Mr. Herzog. A native of Stuttgart, Herzog emigrated to Canada after World War II when he was 22 years old. Working in colour, which was rare for 'high' art photography of the late fifties and early sixties, his work is startlingly crisp and full of life and virance. And, unlike fellow Vancouverite, Jeff Wall, his scenes are captured not carefully staged. The casual nature of his street scenes remind me of the b/w candid shots of Gary Winogrand.
Newspaper Readers. Fred Herzog. 1961
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine recnetly about Canadian Modernist Art, she being raised in rural Canada and I (like the majority of Canadians today) being raised in the urban context. I questioned the relentess appearance of natural themes in Canadian Art when we are becoming more and more a mechanized and global society, and one that is bound to the culture cities. I feel that Herzog's images are witness to the start of that transition as they feature a Vancouver that seems to be in it's adolescence, moving from a regional port to a large city.
Flaneur Granville. Fred Herzog.1960
Hastings and Columbia. Fred Herzog. 1958
2nd Hand Store Boy. Fred Herzog. 1959
Waterfront Flaneur. Fred Herzog. 1959
In closing, these images speak more to the Canada I know and love than any Group of Seven painting ever will. That is important to think about.
posted without permission from http://www.equinoxgallery.com/
just saw the photos at the MOCCA, a great view into the past, wish I could climb into the photos and spend sometime looking around.
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