Elliot Erwitt exhibition

Today I went to an exhibition at Kahitstukan Kyoto Museum of Contemporary Art were they had a wonderful collection of photos by Elliot Erwitt. He was born in Paris in 1926 but his parents were Russian and he later moved to America. In 1950 he became a professional photographer and won a Life photography competition. At the age of 25 Erwitt became a member of the Magnum photos agency. Although he photographed people such as Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol he was also interested in the people he saw around him every day. And it was these photos which I found most inspiring.  Elliot`s father had been ordained a Buddhist priest at Nishihonganji Temple in Kyoto and his ashes are enshrined there.  So this exhibition being held in Kyoto has great significance. Below are some photos I took of the book I bought at the exhibition.

Some people say that my photographs are melancholy and some think they are sad. Funny and sad, isn't that the same thing? Elliot Erwitt

"For a photograph to be good it must have balance, form and substance. But for it to be very good it must have indefinable magic." Elliot Erwitt

"If my pictures help people to notice things in a certain way... perhaps to look at serious things not seriously and not serious things seriously, I would be pleased. In my photography I think that everything is serious and everything is not serious." Elliot Erwitt