Weegee's New York: Photographs, 1935-1960 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 388814874X ISBN 13: 9783888148743

Publisher: Schirmer Mosel, 2000

Synopsis

Weegee’s New York: Photographs 1935–1960

Weegee’s legendary camera recorded an unmatched pictorial chronicle of a legendary time. Weegee’s New York is the New York of the thirties and forties, a city marked by the Great Depression, by unemployment and poverty, by mob violence and prostitution. He was the first news photographer allowed a police radio in his car. Racing through Manhattan’s streets after midnight, he often beat the cops to the scene of the crime to shoot the pictures which would scream from the pages of the Daily News and the Daily Mirror next morning. They still jump from the page with a restless immediacy and intense nervousness that has never been surpassed. The 335 photographs collected in this new softcover reprint tell the astonishing story of New York during one of its most violent and exciting periods. The introductory essay is by the former editor of Art Forum, John Coplans.

Essay by Weegee

Weegee (1899-1968),was born Arthur Fellig in what is now a part of Poland and arrived in New York at the age of ten. During his ten years at Manhattan’s police headquarters he published 5,000 photos that made him the most famous of a new breed of hardboiled news photographers. His book Naked City (later made into a film) was published in 1945, followed in 1953 by Naked Hollywood.

John Coplans, born in 1920 in England, immigrated to the US in 1960. In 1962 he founded the periodical Artforum serving as its editor until 1980. He was director of the Art Gallery of University of California at Irvine; senior curator at the Pasadena Art Museum; and director of the Akron Art Museum, Ohio. At age sixty he took up photography full-time.

335 duotone plates.

About this title

From the Publisher

Legendary photojournalist Weegee’s unflinching eye led him to territory few other photographers of his time dared to go. His New York was not the glamorous world of nightclubs and bustling sidewalks, but of the back alleys and forgotten tenements that bore witness to the city’s tragedy and violence. Weegee’s New York is a city wounded by the Great Depression, in the throes of unemployment and poverty, of crime, corruption, and prostitution. Taken mostly at night, and marked by the characteristically harsh, artificial light that cast telltale shadows on their subjects, these photographs of crime victims, homeless vagrants, petty thieves, and resolute policemen document the gritty reality of Weegee’s world. The first news photographer permitted a police radio in his car, Weegee would race through Manhattan’s streets after midnight, often beating the cops to the scene of the crime. The next morning his pictures would scream from the pages of the Daily News and the Daily Mirror. They still jump from the page today, with a restless an immediacy and intense edginess that has yet to be surpassed. The 335 photographs collected in this volume tell a story of New York during one of its most violent and exciting periods. They also tells the story of the man behind the camera, whose passion, curiosity, and humanity belie his role as uninvolved bystander. More than a record of superb photojournalism, Weegee’s New York is a te! stament to a man who refused to look away.

About the Author

Weegee (1899-1968) was born Arthur Fellig in Poland and arrived in New York at the age of 10. During his ten years at Manhattan’s police headquarters, he published nearly 5,000 photos, making him the most famous of a new breed of hardboiled news photographers. His books include Naked Hollywood and Naked City, which was later made into a film.

Edition details

• Publisher: Schirmer Mosel
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 388814874X
• ISBN 13: 9783888148743
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 335