"Traces of a Friendship: Photographs of Alberto Giacometti by Ernst Scheidegger"
2002-01-30 until 2002-02-27
Orlando Museum of Art
Orlando, FL, USA United States of America

Traces of a Friendship presents a selection of photographs of the internationally known Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966) taken by the Swiss photographer Ernst Scheidegger (born 1923). Scheidegger, a former member of Magnum Photos in Paris (the first cooperative photographic agency), met Giacometti in 1943. Over the years a close friendship developed between the two that lasted until Giacometti’s death in 1966. 

In 1990 Scheidegger published Traces of a Friendship. Alberto Giacometti, a book featuring a small selection of the numerous photographs he had taken of Giacometti and the artist’s work over a period of more than 20 years. The current exhibition is drawn from the photographs featured in Scheidegger’s publication, images that represent Scheidegger’s attempt “to document Giacometti’s personality.” As Scheidegger explains in the preface to his book:

“Alberto Giacometti’s nature, work and thoughts fascinated me and other friends tremendously. I was one of the lucky ones allowed to experience his life. Unfortunately I recorded few of our conversations and his thoughts. My encounters with him, and the resulting photographs, were of a more intimate, personal sort. I rarely took photographs when we were with friends or other people. I mainly took photographs of sculptures in a setting and light that allowed for my own interpretations. I seldom took photographs of individual pictures. Giacometti was not a legend to me. I treasured his absolute will for freedom. He was often cunning and harsh with his judgments and opinions, yet at the same time sensitive. His contradictoriness – often described by others – to me represented an expression of his personality, fervent existence and presence. I loved and respected this man.”

This exhibition has been made available by the Consulate General of Switzerland, Atlanta, Georgia.

Related Links:

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