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 | Clockwise from top left: Angelita, Cactus, Atotonilco, Stone Angel , and Loggerhead
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If Bill Wittliff were only a photographer, he would deserve our attention and praise because of the quality of his work and the breadth of his imagination. If Wittliff were only a director (Red Headed Stranger), simply a screenwriter (Black Stallion, Legends of the Fall), or just a publisher (his independent Encino press which published many important works including Larry McMurtry’s seminal Texas-literature-defining book of essays, In a Narrow Grave) he would be worth of a Chronicle feature. Wittliff is all those things and more: He adapted McMurty’s Lonesome Dove for television, as a photo curator gathered an extensive collection of photos from the commercial photographers who worked Boystown in Nuevo Laredo, and helped foster the extraordinary Texas Literature collection at Southwest Texas State University. Among the fathers of any kind of Texas film scene, after achieving Hollywood success, Wittliff stayed in town, and has been an important mentor to a range of talents. This feature is to honor none of those achievements. If Wittliff were just a photographer, we would still be thrilled to publish these photographs. Wittliff took his with a Camera Obscura (a box with a hole in it). In yet another role, he is also a collector, and most recently he’s been interested in the work of Rocky Schenck. | |
This article appears in November 27 • 1998 and November 27 • 1998 (Cover).