Your pick for most underrated and most overrated photographer

[logan2z]

Only one rule: you can't pick yourself as 'most underrated'

Most underrated: Leon Levinstein
I don't know that he qualifies as most underrated, but Leon Levinstein is certainly up there. Great street work with a unique style, it's a shame that he isn't better known. Check out the Steidl monograph on Levinstein, one of my favorite photo books.

Most overrated: Joel Meyerowitz
IMO, Meyerowitz is a much better talker/self promoter than photographer. He rode the coattails of people like Garry Winogrand and Robert Frank but his street work wasn't in the same league. Nothing particularly special about his LF work either. His reputation as one of the greats isn't really deserved IMO.

Share your picks...

 

[Pieter12]

Winogrand is right there with Meyerowitz for overrated. But then there are hundreds of overrated photographers in my opinion. It's a matter of taste.

 

[ic-racer]

Over rated by auction houses, collectors and speculators: Richard Prince.

Most under rated by collectors, my work, of course.

 

[Wayne]

Wait while I grab my popcorn...

 

[MattKing]

Peter Lik

 

[Pieter12]

Over rated by auction houses, collectors and speculators: Richard Prince.

Most under rated by collectors, my work, of course.

I don't know that I would consider Prince a photographer, even though he uses photography--but it is someone else's!

 

[logan2z]

Most under rated by collectors, my work, of course.

There was only one rule!

 

[logan2z]

Peter Lik

Under or overrated?

 

[Pieter12]

Check out the Steidl monograph on Levinstein, one of my favorite photo books.

How underrated could he be if Steidl has published a monograph?

 

[removed account4]

I have no idea who or what is over rated or under rated, its all about taste, like pretty much everything else.
that said I have a whole list of photographers... photographers I like and don't like as much
but I won't publish them here in this thread, ....

 

[logan2z]

How underrated could he be if Steidl has published a monograph?

If you look through Steidl's catalog, I think you'll find a good many relatively unknown photographers represented. I wouldn't necessarily use a single monograph by Steidl as a barometer. Steidl published a Louis Faurer monograph as well, but I would also file him in the underrated category. Put another way, when people discuss the greats of street photography (as an example), I think few would mention Levinstein or Faurer.

 

[logan2z]

Is all about taste, like pretty much everything else.

Of course it is. So is "which is the best Leica film camera?" or "which is the most rugged Nikon F?", but that doesn't stop us from discussing those topics. Just nice to discuss something other than hardware for a change. Or not...

 

[wyofilm]

Matt Has the best answer for overrated. My pick for most underrated is Fan Ho. (Of course this could change by tomorrow ... as answers to such questions do.)

 

[CMoore]

Wait while I grab my popcorn...

Yeah.
This thread is a bad idea.

 

[Pieter12]

Yeah.
This thread is a bad idea.

Why? There are no fireworks yet.

 

[Pieter12]

If you look through Steidl's catalog, I think you'll find a good many relatively unknown photographers represented. I wouldn't necessarily use a single monograph by Steidl as a barometer. Steidl published a Louis Faurer monograph as well, but I would also file him in the underrated category. Put another way, when people discuss the greats of street photography (as an example), I think few would mention Levinstein or Faurer.

I guess a definition of "rated" is in order. Rated by whom? Critics? Museums? Collectors? Or just the folks you happen to hang with or are on this forum? It's a tricky definition. Being relatively unknown does not mean a photographer isn't held in regard by those who are doing this rating.

 

[CMoore]

Why? There are no fireworks yet.

Well, lets hope there are not any.

JMHO, of course.
Ultimately, it is the owners of this forum that decide what is "Allowed".

Just relating my experience.....no matter if it is race car drivers, guitar players, photographers, actors, etc etc etc.
It does not make the members of the forum look good to be crapping on others of the same skill.

Most forums i belong to usually "Discourage" these types of threads.
It is much better to just discuss the crafts person that you like, and not who you think sucks.
And discussing who is "Overrated" is just another way of saying that person XYZ sucks and does not deserve the Money, Notoriety, Success that they have.achieved.

I really dig Lee Miller right now.

 

[logan2z]

I guess a definition of "rated" is in order. Rated by whom? Critics? Museums? Collectors? Or just the folks you happen to hang with or are on this forum? It's a tricky definition. Being relatively unknown does not mean a photographer isn't held in regard by those who are doing this rating.

I honestly don't think this is that complicated. The question is, who in your opinion is underrated and overrated? Who do you think deserves more attention and who do you think gets more attention than they deserve? Use whatever metrics you deem important - gallery representation, number ofi museums who hold the artists work in their permanent collection,, selling prices of prints at auction, number of solo/group shows, number of YouTube videos about them, number of books about them, etc..

Just pretend I asked "which film camera is the most underrated?" and apply the same thought process to photographers

 

[logan2z]

Well, lets hope there are not any.

JMHO, of course.
Ultimately, it is the owners of this forum that decide what is "Allowed".

Just relating my experience.....no matter if it is race car drivers, guitar players, photographers, actors, etc etc etc.
It does not make the members of the forum look good to be crapping on others of the same skill.

Most forums i belong to usually "Discourage" these types of threads.
It is much better to just discuss the crafts person that you like, and not who you think sucks.
And discussing who is "Overrated" is just another way of saying that person XYZ sucks and does not deserve the Money, Notoriety, Success that they have.achieved.

I really dig Lee Miller right now.

I thought we could have a reasonable discourse on this subject. If this thread is deemed a bad idea then I apologize for starting it and won't take offense if the moderators decide to close it.

 

[MattKing]

If you replace under-rated with under-appreciated, it is all good.
And if you replace over-rated with over-exposed, it is probably worth discussing.

 

[Pieter12]

It does not make the members of the forum look good to be crapping on others of the same skill.

I doubt very much any of the photographers mentioned participate in this forum.

 

[MattKing]

I doubt very much any of the photographers mentioned participate in this forum.

At least under their own names .

 

[logan2z]

If you replace under-rated with under-appreciated, it is all good.

I thought they were synonyms.

And if you replace over-rated with over-exposed, it is probably worth discussing.

Good suggestion, let's go with that.

 

[MattKing]

If you replace under-rated with under-appreciated, it is all good.

I thought they were synonyms.

In some ways they are synonyms.
However I think "ratings" tend more to reflect the hard and critical commercial art world,
And "appreciation" is closer to what most of us identify with.

 

[CMoore]

If you replace under-rated with under-appreciated, it is all good.
And if you replace over-rated with over-exposed, it is probably worth discussing.

That is usually the way i see it presented to the membership.
Not hard to understand why.
Just trying to keep an air of mutual respect on the forum...... any forum, not just this one.
As i said earlier, it is up to The Forum Owner to decide what lives or dies here.

I have seen these scenarios go sour many times. It is typically the rather Well Known/Famous people that are caught in the cross hairs and it can get ugly.
Not sure why people resist the notion of going with terms like Underappreciated Photog or Best Unknown Photog....Etc etc etc.

No problem......if members want to go with Overrated...... do that.
.