Fun
A Photographer’s Journey
Dear Kay,
When all else fails (and let me tell you, the Netflix series Godless was a fail of epic proportions—I want my money back! Shame on them! Boo!), the place to turn is American Masters. The long-running PBS series (launched decades ago) introduces us to writers, artists, and musicians in such a mesmerizing way.
The episode that Hubbo and I watched, transfixed, is “Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey.” It streams right here, for free. (Be quick, though: I just noticed that free streaming ends today, ugh!)
It is beautiful. It is inspiring. It takes us along for the story of a young man, born in Arizona with roots in Mexico, who ends up capturing the work of some of the twentieth century’s celebrated artists.
After seeing even a couple of his images, you’ll see that Guerrero is himself an artist.
Frank Lloyd Wright gave him his first break, at the age of 22, photographing the construction of Taliesin West. Alexander Calder let him follow him around. Louise Nevelson shared some of her most dramatic work with him. Guerrero built a tremendous career doing work for every major magazine of the era, yet his modesty may be one of the most striking things about him.
Watch this documentary as a way to clear your palate and to celebrate someone who took up photography only because the painting classes were filled. And to imagine how it must have felt when he discovered what photography was. “The minute I made my first print,” he said, “I thought, This is mine. This is for me. This is a magic that I can control.”
Love,
Ann
Great tip. Wonderful series. I will look for this one. Thanks for sharing.
Love the series also.
Oh, my. Thank you, Ann. What a treat this was.
What a wonderful career and life. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Thanks for the recommendation ! I’ve also found some real losers too
I saw this when it first aired on my local PBS. It gets my HIGHEST recommendation, so I’m glad to see you spread the word.
Watched it this morning! What a hidden genius. Now onto Philip Roth.
WOW!! Thanks so much for the tip!
“Magic that I can control.” I say a prayer that we all discover that for ourselves.
I am surprised you didn’t like Godless!!! Please tell me why. I loved it.
Thanks for the tip on this American Masters episode.
I’m halfway through Godless and loving it! Does it get bad or dark?
Lol it starts out bad and just gets worse! One reviewer calculated the body count at 367. Why are we watching such gruesomely violence as entertainment? Godless really made me think about this.
Thanks a million, Ann! What a treat this was!
We watched this last night, per your recommendation, and loved it. I knew about Pedro Guerrero, but not that much. Thanks so much for sharing the info. I always look forward to your Sunday letters.
I watched it last night. O, those images of Calder’s home and work, the mess, his lovely wife (who wrote a crochet book and made latch hook rugs using his magic-marker drawings on her canvases, I must add). His photos of people reveal their character and I like his photos of Wright’s work even better than the buildings themselves! Incredible incredible. His modesty reminded me of my father-in-law, an amateur photography whom I never met. Last week I watched the Basquiat episode of this series and was near tears several times. He was not at all how I’d imagined him.