A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers

225 - Mitch Epstein


Listen Later

Mitch Epstein helped pioneer fine-art color photography in the 1970s. His photographs are in numerous major museum collections, including New York's Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art; The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Tate Modern in London.

In October 2024, Gallerie d’Italia in Turin, Italy will present a major multi-media exhibition of Mitch’s project, Old Growth; and in September 2024, Old Growth will be shown in NYC at Yancey Richardson Gallery. Mitch’s Indian photographs and films (Salaam Bombay! and India Cabaret) were exhibited in 2022 at Les Rencontres d'Arles festival in France. Mitch has had numerous other major solo exhibitions in the USA and worldwide.

Mitch’s seventeen books, all published by Steidl Verlag, include Recreation (2022); Property Rights (2021); In India (2021); Rocks and Clouds (2017); New York Arbor (2013); Berlin (Steidl/The American Academy in Berlin 2011); American Power (2009); and Family Business (2003), which was winner of the 2004 Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Award.

In 2020, Mitch was inducted into the National Academy of Design. In 2011, he won the Prix Pictet for American Power. Among his other awards are the Berlin Prize in Arts and Letters from the American Academy in Berlin (2008), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2003).

Mitch has worked as a director, cinematographer, and production designer on several films, including Dad, Mississippi Masala, and Salaam Bombay!. He lives with his family in New York City.

 

In episode 225, Mitch discusses, among other things:

  • New York
  • John Szarkowski at MOMA
  • Editing
  • India
  • Garry Winogrand and his influence
  • Going to LA in ‘74
  • Working on the films of his then wife Mira Nair
  • Trial and error
  • Family Business
  • American Power
  • Old Growth

 

Referenced:

  • John Szarkowski
  • Eugene Atget
  • Diane Arbus
  • William Eggleston
  • Todd Papageorge
  • Raghubir Singh
  • Jonas Mekas
  • Hollis Frampton

Website | Instagram

“Through disorientation, through not knowing, through being uncomfortable, things happen. And I think some of the most important periods for me in my life as an artist have been those periods where I have ultimately not known what I was doing or where I was going next. Now I’m a little bit better at just listening to the signals that come along, even though they may not give me the full-fledged answer they’ll just point in a direction. And I’m a little bit more patient with the process.”

 

Become a A Small Voice podcast member here to access exclusive additional subscriber-only content and the full archive of 200+ previous episodes for £5 per month.
 

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter here for everything A Small Voice related and much more besides.
 

Follow me on Instagram here.
 

Need a new website? I will build you one with Squarespace. Details here.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakersBy Ben Smith

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

158 ratings


More shows like A Small Voice: Conversations with photographers and filmmakers

View all
The New Yorker: Poetry by The New Yorker

The New Yorker: Poetry

529 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

309 Listeners

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography by Ibarionex R. Perello

The Candid Frame: Conversations on Photography

669 Listeners

The Week in Art by The Art Newspaper

The Week in Art

213 Listeners

The Atlantic Interview by The Atlantic

The Atlantic Interview

23 Listeners

A Photographic Life by The United Nations of Photography

A Photographic Life

39 Listeners

Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton by Michael Chovan-Dalton

Real Photo Show with Michael Chovan-Dalton

38 Listeners

The Photowalk by Neale James

The Photowalk

124 Listeners

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

5,128 Listeners

FRAMES Photography Podcast by FRAMES Magazine

FRAMES Photography Podcast

101 Listeners

The Messy Truth - Conversations on Photography by Gem Fletcher

The Messy Truth - Conversations on Photography

63 Listeners

PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf by Sasha Wolf / Real Photo Show

PhotoWork with Sasha Wolf

303 Listeners

Right Eye Dominant by Nick Tauro Jr.

Right Eye Dominant

38 Listeners

Empire: World History by Goalhanger

Empire: World History

2,455 Listeners

Street Life by Mark Davidson and John St

Street Life

16 Listeners