I love lists for a number of reasons. They help me organize my life and allow me focus on what is most important. I guess that’s why everyone (OK, maybe almost everyone) loves top lists. You know – the best of this that or the other. A few years ago, Professional Photographer magazine put out a list of the 100 most influential photographers. They weren’t just talking about the most influential of the year, or the decade. They meant the most influential photographers of all time. And it was put in order.
I flipped through this list and made few observations. First, I’m happy to see many names that I deeply respect listed prominently on their list: Richard Avedon, Annie Liebovitz, Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus and Walker Evans. These are obvious and I’m happy to see that they get their due recognition. I had also not heard of another significant portion of the list, which just shows how much more I need to know about this art.
But as I flipped through the list and took some mental notes about whose portfolios I need to study, I started to notice a few notable names I thought were missing. Lee Friedlander’s name is missing. Dorothea Lange is another name that appears to be missing from the list. Lewis Hines, Eugene Atget and Yousuf Karsh also appear to be missing. I’ve spent enough time looking at their photos to want these photographers to get their recognition, but it won’t come from this list.
The omission is likely to set off a lot of bitter feelings among some artists, but this is their publication and reasonable minds will differ, although I’m not the only one to notice the absence of these names. Unfortunate, but the article was still a worthwhile drill. Not everyone will agree, but the presence or absence of any name generates discussion.