Horvat Redux

(Photo by Frank Horvat)

I wrote my Fan's Note to Mr. Frank Horvat as I said I would. It was a gushy missive of appreciation for his immense talent and his willingness to change his work with new technologies as they develop. In sixty years of photography (Mr. Horvat is now nearly eighty), he has seen a lot of changes.

To my happy surprise, he wrote back straight away. I would like to publish his note here, but that would not be right. But his writing is an analog to his work, very open and generous. Now, there is much more I would like to say to him, and much more that I would like to ask, but how does one do such a thing without being a pest or worse?

When I Googled him, I was surprised to find that there is no Wikipedia page about him. I know, I know, but everyone has a Wikipedia page. I am thinking of writing one about him. A tribute.

But that is not enough. Going through his CV, I do not find a big retrospective show in the U.S. He is more than deserving of that. Perhaps I will barrage the ICP with letters, mount a campaign. Why haven't the Met or MoMA done something? But I don't really know how such things work. The Staley-Wise Gallery in New York represents his work, and the art scene there is something beyond my hillbilly comprehension.

But I can't help myself. I must quote from one part of his response. In part, he said:

The difference between a Leica and a digital compact is about as great as between a horse and a motor car. People who fail to recognize this are simply not living in the present. There is nothing wrong with a horse or a Leica, it’s just a pity not to use a car when it’s available.

This from a man who has made some of the most beautiful film images you will ever see.

Make me write the Wikipedia page. Before I publish it, though, I will send it to him for approval.

(Photo by Frank Horvat)