The Red Ceiling

On our visit to Philadelphia earlier this month, our friend Pam took us to an art gallery in Old City, the historic district. On the top floor of the gallery, I snapped the photo at the top of the page. Its deep red, snaking lines, and electronic “eye” staring at you reminded me of William Eggleston’s famous photo titled The Red Ceiling, reproduced above. Taken in 1973 in Greenwood, Miss, it’s been called “vulgar” and carrying “some indefinable sense of menace.”

Eggleston sent it to John Szarkowski, director of photography at MoMa, who accepted it into the museum’s collection. A few years later, Eggleston went on to have the first ever solo color photography exhibit in MoMA’s history, ushering in the respectability of color in art photography.

While this particular photograph of Eggleston’s is not my favorite, he is one of my favorite artists and has been an inspiration as I have continued to learn about photography and put that learning into practice. Essentially, he looked to take the aesthetic of the snapshot and apply the rules of composition to photos of mundane everyday objects.

Incidentally, the photo above was used as an album cover by Memphis band Big Star. Years later, The Black Keys would do the same with another Eggleston photo on Delta Kreme (2021).

In closing, if you’re looking for a short introduction to Eggleston’s work and approach, check out his MoMA reference page or this video.