Have you ever looked at a photograph and just scratched your head wondering how much patience it must have taken to capture the moment?
Elliott Erwitt has been making "head scratching images" like that for 50 years. Erwitt's web site is a treat and provides a virtual glimpse highlighting many of his most memorable images.
I first ran across the work of Elliott Erwitt in the 1970s while thumbing through books at the library. The impression I had of Erwitt's work at the time remains with me today. He takes ordinary moments and makes them not so ordinary. In fact, looking at his pictures makes me think of things in extraordinary ways.
Erwitt's images are a form of social commentary, but they are also art. His pictures inspire me, make me laugh, and look at life in whole new ways. Erwitt is a master of the moment and his patience for making these moments is tremendous.
Most people, myself included, rush from place to place without ever truly taking the time to see the everyday world in new ways. Erwitt's work reminds me that things can have meaning if seen with clarity and patience.