an article by Robyn Israel ... Dateline: Friday, November 08, 2002

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CARTER COMMANDING AT MODERNBOOK

We saw a commanding exhibit of the photographs of the urbane William Carter at Modernbook at 1060 Westwood Blvd. on February 23rd.  Carter played clarinet in a jazz ensemble upstairs, while the fashionable crowd in attendance milled about below, taking in his images, which are vaguely reminiscent of the style of Harry Callahan and likewise primarily concerned with the nude, although missing Callahan’s existentialism.  By his own admission, Carter’s photographs are most concerned with abstract qualities like volume, line and tone.  Mr. Carter confided to me how amazed he was that new photographers derive so much influence from music, and seek inspiration entirely beyond the realm of logic.  In an exclusive conversation, he confessed he prefers the world of black and white to color, as it is distanced from reality. Drawing his inspiration from the California Classics like Strand, Weston and Cunningham, Carter expressed his preference for the female subject, remarking on its smooth surfaces and different harmony and skin shapes that are less muscular, more rounded and with a dramatic depth.

from "The Beverly Hills Outlook"
 

Comment to William Carter
 

It was such a pleasure meeting you at your Feb. 23rd Booksigning in Westwood.

You have a depth and a tenderness that shows in your work. The evening in that space at ModernBook had a sense of magic. Everyone seemed so familiar, like a soul cluster.

I love your book and am sharing it with friends. Your text has a poetic depth that touches the artist in us all. Your photographs, so delicately lit, are like a whisper.

-- Gayle Goodrich -- March, 2002