It's easy to assume that photography (art photography) in the 1950's and early 1960's was dominated by people like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank and the talented crew who routinely shot for Life Magazine and Look Magazine. Fashion photography was widely thought to be the dominion of Richard Avedon and Irving Penn. And we assume that everyone else working back then was using one or another of a small group of superstar photographers like them as role models and beacons of style; that they represented the photo-cultural avant-garde of an era.
But there is one collection of work that I keep coming back to that seems fresher and more modern than most of the famous work from that period and it was done in a short span of time by William Klein, the essential proto street photographer.
Many years ago Aperture put out the above monograph of Klein's work. It covers his street photography in New York, Paris, Rome, Tokyo and Moscow. It also looks at some of his fashion photography, exhibition design and his graphic design. At a certain point in the late 1950's Klein moved to Paris, took up filmmaking (successfully) and never really came back to the U.S.
While HCB spent most of his career making (wonderful) images that fit into the formalist constraints of his love for the 50mm lens; with an occasional nod to the 35mm or the 90mm, and while Robert Frank also shot with neutral focal lengths, Klein seemed to have always had a wide angle lens (or a very wide angle lens) bolted to the front of his camera. Where Frank and HCB seemed mostly to relish being unobserved while photographing Klein and his wide angle lens are almost always right in front of the subject and usually fully engaged with them. In their faces! As a result his photographs are much more immersive, emotional, powerful, and even confrontational. They have a power to them that seems to have grown while (perhaps because of saturation or stateliness) the images of his street shooting peers now seem more like exercises in formalism and design by comparison. Even his printing of images was a rejection of the standard of the day; rejecting a broad range of gray tones from black to white and instead relying on higher contrast printing to accentuate his approach.
When I bought this book, well over twenty years ago I leafed through it a couple of times and then it sat on a bookshelf for ten years. When I took it back off the shelf ten years ago it seemed to have aged well. Better than I expected. And when I pulled the book into my reading nook and sat down for a deeper look again last week I started to develop a stronger re-appreciation for the power Klein wielded; being able to wade into a crowd and compel a group of strangers to respond (not pose) to him and his camera. Almost like the subsequent photography of modern street photographer, Bruce Gilden but with none of the implied malice, voyeurism and affected disregard for the subjects.
I have not seen a show of Klein's original prints but I certainly want to. Learn more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Klein_(photographer). Read what William Klein's work taught modern street photographer, Eric Kim, here: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2013/03/26/10-lessons-william-klein-has-taught-me-about-street-photography/
And a quick Google search turns up a trove of his work here: william klein photography
I think everyone should take a dive into the photographs and life of William Klein. Much of what passes for art/street photography now owes a deep debt to his ferocious and energy filled plunge into the streets of the 1950's and 1960's, armed with a camera.
9 comments:
I saw an exhibit of Klein's work at the Tate Modern about six or seven years ago, and the prints were even more impressive than his books (they were pretty big, mind you). It was a joint show with Daido Moriyama, who was heavily influenced by Klein. If anyone mounts a new show of Klein's work, it's worth seeking out.
I am a fan of Klein.
Perhaps the biggest issue with street photography is engagement with the public. I see so many street shooters who seem relieved that the people going about their business do not notice them. Many photographers seem almost terrified of being seen be taking pictures. Its a sign of the times i guess.
When i see Kleins work, his best shots are those where the passer by he encounters are a part of the experience - they knowingly participate.
To take a longer/deeper dive into the life of WK go there: https://vimeo.com/228999366
Well worth the time!
Wolf
Tate Modern in London several years ago had a deep retrospective of Klein and Moriyama. Moriyama says the klein had a great influence on him. When I went to the exhibit Klein was there, in a wheelchair with a camera in his lap. Here’s 10 min film the Tate put out on Klein. https://youtu.be/7g9IksGqiUM and here’s the one on Moriyama from the same exhibit. https://youtu.be/foWAs3V_lkg
I don't care much for Klein, but I like this type of post very much and hope you'll do more of them.
I've never been successful at street photography in the U.S., but working abroad, much of my photography is street portraits. I probably have nearly enough to do a book like Steve McCurry's, but without a "name" or an iconic image like his Afghan Girl I would probably be lucky to sell copies to my own family.
Thanks for reminding me of Klein, I really enjoy his work. It's hands down better than 99% of what I see passed off as "street" photography these days. Like Dave Jenkins I find it much easier to engage folks outside of the EU and North America.
There was one situation when I was doing some photography in Malaysia and was wandering down a back alley. A kitchen worker was sitting down on a box having a smoke and I asked him if I could take his photograph. He got a big smile and ran into the kitchen. It kind of left me a bit confused but moments later the entire kitchen staff tumbled out of the back door. Everyone wanted to participate! What a great experience that resulted in some very pleasing photographs.
Eric
A wonderful street photographer of the wide angle lens in your face variety is Dougie Wallace http://www.dougiewallace.com/ His portfolio is well worth a look. There's also a great BBC documentary on him here - https://vimeo.com/194869208
I also saw the Klein / Moriyama exhibition in London. Blew me away!
Thanks for this, Kirk!
He seems to have, and show, humour also, not too common in photography.
Wow, this piece of writing is pleasant, my sister is analyzing such things, thus
I am going to let know her.
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