Ian MacEachern’s penetrating eye probes what is happening. Over his 60-year photographic career he captured exceptional moments throughout Canada and the United States. Black and White is Like Radio presents his unique ability to characterize people and places unaffected by lens. This collection of images – all full-frame and unmanipulated – shows his life-long passion for social documentary street photography, as well as his perceptive observing of odd juxtapositions, quirky signs, humour, and a quiet humanity.
MacEachern was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia in 1942. He worked as a TV cameraman throughout the Maritimes in Sydney, Moncton, and in 1962 he moved to Saint John to work for CHSJ-TV. Soon after he began taking photographs, documenting the changing face of Saint John in the mid- to late-1960s. He also captured his world in other places. MacEachern moved to Toronto in 1966 and freelanced as a magazine photographer, then worked as a cameraman for CBC Toronto. Moving to London, Ontario in 1968, he continued freelance photography doing magazine and industrial photojournalism. His photographs are in the permanent collection of the McIntosh Gallery at Western University, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, and in numerous private collections. Ian recently exhibited photographs of the epic rock band The Velvet Underground at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, France.
Curated by John Leroux and organized by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.