Oliver Holms — Notes

William Eggleston at the piano on NTS

Aug 9, 2024 Portrait of photographer William Eggleston smoking at a piano with white metal blinds behind him.

William Eggleston by Stefan Ruiz

A lovely confluence of three things that I love at one link: William Eggleston, NTS, and contemporary classical/ambient music:

William Eggleston 23rd July 2024 | NTS

Black and white portrait of photographer William Eggleston at a piano with white metal blinds behind him. His hand is resting just above the hammers in the interior of the baby grand

William Eggleston by Jody Rojac

The colour photography legend is as steeped in music as in the visual arts (at times referring to music as his first calling), and makes exploratory compositions on piano and synthesiser. Eggleston’s music remained unreleased until 2017’s Musik LP and this is a delicate and rare hour of his music alongside work from Harold Budd, Karl Richter, Eno and others. It’s a finely textured and mellow set that is perfect for editing sessions or kicking back and dissolving into.

Cover of William Eggleston's Musik LP. The central photograph shows Eggleston sat at a low electric piano, with his back to the camera. There is a blue window pan on the right hand side of the frame that divides the picture in half

The images in this post show a few of my favourite portraits of Eggleston at the piano. He is a wonderful portrait subject — soulful and present, elegant and a little scruffy. Juergen Teller has also shot a set of him sans piano that are excellent too.

William Eggleston playing a battered baby grand piano at night on a roadside illuminated by a bar's glowing sign

William Eggleston by Juergen Teller