The Easel

14th April 2020

Weegee: Photos of a seedy underworld

Oliver Lunn | bbc.com | 4th March 2020

The New York tabloids had a saying: “if it bleeds it leads”. Weegee’s sensational images for these clients brought him renown. What sets his photography apart is an evident empathy for those who lived in New York’s teeming tenements. It allowed his images to tell a bigger, human story which is his legacy. One follower was Diane Arbus: “[they] occupy some of the same mental space – the underworld, the real fringe people”. A video (8 min) is here.

7th April 2020

Discovering magic in the mundane with Daidō Moriyama, Japan’s street photography godfather

Miss Rosen | Document | 28th January 2020

A major exhibition of Moriyama’s work has been cancelled. Images from that show are here and the linked piece is a recent assessment of his work. Moriyama declares that photography is “simply copying” but then admits “as a photographer, I make discoveries”. Often, those discoveries are the beauty to be found in gritty urban life. Cumulatively, his prolific output amounts to a “eulogy to the intense state of modern life.”

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