William Eggleston’s long-awaited retrospective Democratic Camera recently opened at the Whitney Museum of Art, and the number of works on display made me glad I packed a lunch.

"Untitled", c.1971-73, from "Troubled Waters", 1980. Dye transfer print, 15 7/8 x 19 15/16 in. (40.3 x 50.6 cm). Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., museum purchase with the aid of funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., a federal agency, and the Polaroid Corporation © Eggleston Artistic Trust

In fitting with its title, the exhibition is organized in a very egalitarian manner, with most of the color photographs similarly sized, framed and hung at the same level throughout the three large galleries they occupy. The curators may have decided to arrange the artist’s work in this way in order to complement Eggleston’s own reluctance to to impose hierarchies on his work.

However, because Eggleston’s keen eye for color and his odd compositions don’t waver in the selected prints, the order of the images makes it somewhat difficult to track changes in a career that spans over forty years. I found myself wishing for additional distinguishing elements in the presentation as I followed the image flow from room to room. Eggleston’s portfolio of 14 Pictures selected by Walter Hopps, hung in a small grouping by themselves, and his black and white prints and video, Stranded In Canton, were the notable exceptions.

Stills from Stranded in Canton, 1973. © William Eggleston

"Untitled", (Memphis, Tennessee), 1971, from "14 Pictures", 1974. Dye transfer print, 15 7/8 x 19 15/16 in. (40.3 x 50.6 cm). © Eggleston Artistic Trust

Whitney Museum of American Art

November 7, 2008 - January 25, 2009

P.S. The New Yorker and New York Magazine both published interesting profiles of the artist, but the International Herald Tribune’s review comes closest to how this longtime admirer sees Eggleston’s work.

Tags: Democratic Camera, New York, Photography, retrospective, video, Whitney, William Eggleston.

Yesterday was the last day to see Tom Sachs‘ Hello Kitty and co. at the Place du Trocadero, a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower. The giant Hello Kitty, Miffy, and My Melody fountains created by Sachs shed their “tears” as the saddest trio of Sanrio characters Paris has seen.

Tags: Art, Eiffel Tower, Hello Kitty, Paris, Sanrio, Tom Sachs.