Street photography is as old as the medium itself. Louis Daguerre’s shots of a shoe-shiner on the streets of Paris date the genre back to the 1830s. But the enthusiasm for bottling up the buzz of urban settings took off in the 1960s and 1970s, brought into the mainstream art world by practitioners like Helen Levitt, Lee Friedlander and Garry Winogrand. Amongst their ranks was Joel Meyerowitz, whose images of New York earned international recognition. His work has appeared in over 350 exhibitions, he has published 53 books and is a two-time Guggenheim Fellow.
Fondazione Brescia Musei surveys Meyerowitz’s career from the 1960s to the present-day. It features over 90 pictures, tracing his pioneering contribution to street photography, most notably the introduction of colour in 1962. It was a time when the pervading feeling was that serious photographers shot only in black and white, to which Meyerowitz responded: “But why, when the world is in colour?” Examples include images taken in Provincetown in the 1970s, which document the families, artists and citizens of the Massachusetts town in rich hues, from the red interior of a car, to young people caught after a swim in the sea.
Perhaps the most impactful part of the exhibition is the poignant photos taken in the days following the 9/11 terrorist attack. Meyerowitz was the only photographer authorised to document the World Trade Center district. His striking and emotional subjects range from isolated workers who were dealing with the aftermath of the atrocity, to a sea of people lining the streets to show their respect. This display is the result of a master at work.
A Sense of Wonder | Fondazione Brescia Musei | Until 24 August
bresciamusei.com
Image credits:
1. © Joel Meyerowitz, Red Interior, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1977
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