Photographer Essays

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz is a contemporary photographer most well noted for his use of color photography in the 1960s of architectural light and street photography. The goal of much of his art was to capture a fleeting perspective. In reference to what his motivation while photographing, Meyerowitz states his main goal is to ask “How much could we absorb and embrace of a moment of existence that would disappear in an instant?”. The idea that Meyerowitz looks to capture primarily candid settings shines a light on his photography as a whole, as he often looks to capture aesthetically pleasing but genuine moments of time. Even in his commercial work, his style and ability to depict a sense of a genuine moment frozen in time, remain prominent. His photos feel well composed but at the same time very natural, as if the viewer is walking along and stumbles upon the moment. He took this concept to the next level in much of his street photography which is mostly based in the streets of New York City. Through his photos he captures the unique persona of the city, balancing the grittiness with the euphoria that resides in the streets and citizens. He was the only photographer allocated unrestricted access in Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks. This goes to show not only the level of acclaim he reached in his career, but the trust that New York City had in him as an artist to capture the horrific struggle and the ability of the citizens to rise above amidst such a tragic moment in history.

Sophie Calle

Sophie Calle is a photographer, writer, and installation artist. Though her book Sophie Calle: Did You See Me?, Calle showcases her photography while also alluding to her array of artistic skills, creating a visual journey for her readers. The book contains a number of page sizes and textures to create a unique layout that guides her viewer and creates an interactive layer to her photography. This layout choice heavily reflects her mission in much of her photography, as she often wants the viewer’s of her work to be an active participant in the art. Much of her work looks to depict human vulnerability and primal emotions. Calle has no formal education in art but traveled for several years throughout Mexico, the U.S., and China after graduating secondary school. This experience led her to develop her career as an artist and explains why much of her work looks to find the primal overlaps between all humans despite the many cultural differences. Though a lot of her work focuses on the many commonalities of the human experience, she also is very interested in the individual perspectives that each person has throughout his or her life. This is specifically prominent in her piece Double Blind,  that depicts the individual experiences she and her then boyfriend Greg Sheppard had over the course of a road trip across the United States. Though the subject matter and emotion that Calle looks to capture in her work remains fairly similar from work to work, her overall style transitions throughout her career. In many circumstances though, Calle’s work is in black and white film and includes a clear depiction of motion through blurriness of subject matter.

Inge Morath

Inge Morath was born in Graz, Austria in 1923. She first started off her career as a writer writing for photographer Ernst Haas. She began photographing shortly after, traveling throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe to create her images. Her images were published by a number of acclaimed magazines and were often paired with her writing. After getting married in the early 1960s she settled down in New York. It was here that she accomplished much of her street photography which depicts a very candid view of the city. Though much of her work is created in color, she is well known for her black and white portraits of famous artist and cultural elit that posed for Morath. This series of photographs is most well regarded for the genuine depiction she is able to conjure from such historic icons. This is best attributed to the research and questioning she did of each individual before photographing them and the concept that she photographed them in their private settings with their personal belongings. Though some of her work is staged photography, all of her pieces capture a very personal essence of the people she is photographing.