William Gedney: Duke University Collection

05/03/09

Here is something to do on this rainy, lazy Sunday...I've been browsing this enormous collection of photographs and writings by William Gedney for weeks. The Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library has his whole collection of photographs, contact sheets, and notebooks. His two main bodies of work are photographs of hippies in SF's Haight Ashbury and photographs of coal miner's families in Kentucky. These were shown in his first and only solo exhibition at the MOMA in 1968, organized by John Szarkowski. All these images are in the Duke collection, as are his cross country drives, trips to India, photographs of composers and many other adventures. The notebooks have meticulous records of images and prints as well as writing on other photographers, sketches of subway riders, quotes, bits of personal drama and pep talks, and book mock-ups of his own photographs.

More of his photographs after the jump... They are all, btw, Copyright Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.