The City: Arthur “Weegee” Fellig
For this presentation, was asked to research Weegee's photographs - as it relates to the city and it documents the effect of the city upon the lives of its inhabitants.
Corpse with revolver
Children on the fire-escape
What is represented and communicated in the photographer’s work?
Weegee documents street life and crime. Most is in New York of the Lower East Side. During his career, the Lower East Side was a working class part of New York; not as established as other areas. This allowed him to find the crime he documented; also aided by The Great Depression in the 1930s.
He often takes photographs in the night while following the various emergency services thanks to the police radio he kept in his car. This meant he arrived at the scene of murders, violence and crime, car accidents and crashes and chaotic events but also allowed him to develop his style. The time of day he took his images relates very well to the dark things he photographs as well as it generally being the time so much of the crime occurred. He mostly always used flash.
There are always people and figures in his photos and/or events going on. In some there are groups of people and in others there is only one who he may have found an interesting subject such as a thief he photographed in a police station who was dressed as a woman. Photographing such a wide range of people suggests Weegee is suggesting the diversity of humanity in his work.
How has the photographer chosen to portray his story?
Weegee takes an objective approach to his work; viewing it from an outside perspective. This is a good way of telling the viewer the story because while he is looking at the scenes from a certain distance, we are too. However, he also appears to be in the middle of the scene in the sense that he often gets close to his subjects. This allows us to get closer too and understand more of what’s going on. He chooses to take his photographs at the eye level of the people (unless asleep or preoccupied) which makes these people more relatable.
His angles sometimes dictate the social hierarchy. For example, in his image of a murder victim, his angle is low, looking upwards at the people surrounding the body suggesting their superiority.
What are the visual elements and photographic choices of the work?
As we’ve already established Weegee practically always includes people in his images which are the subjects of his work. The main subject is always completely framed but there are other less significant figures sometimes included in the frame although not fully. He gives the viewer an idea of the setting of the photo but not a clear one. The focus is on the people not generally the location.
The composition of Weegee’s photos is always different to suit the scene. He doesn’t seem to consider the compositions all the time but concentrates more on what’s happening and including the people sufficiently in his image. Like his compositions, his camera angles are ever changing to suit the scenes too.§
He used a Speed Graphic 5x4 camera which he often kept set on 10ft and f16 with a flash bulb. Weegee always shot in black and white and increased the contrast of his images. This emphasis the scenes and makes the images more effective.
How is the city present in the images?
Weegee involves things in his photographs for the viewer to see what kind of environment it is or when the photos was taken and they also provide context. For example, his photo “Happy New Year involves a banner which tells us obviously when he took the photo. There’s a sense of mystery in the photo because the people in it look relatively happy but we still don’t know what has happened and whether or not it contradicts the banner.
Weegee’s photograph “On the Spot” clearly shows a murder outside of a Bar and Grill and the sign post shows the exact location. The image looks strange because of the location to begin with and how the police officers seem to be casually standing around near a dead body that nobody really seems to be that aware of.
What do the images say about the existence in the city and what psychological effect does it have on the citizens?
Weegee’s photograph’s display the relationship of the people to the environment. The environment is constant in comparison to the people. The viewer doesn’t see the growth of the buildings and architecture etc. but you see the events of the characters in the photos and what happens to the people every day.
The Great Depression had a very negative effect on the state of the city; not just economically. The aesthetics of the city changed – the new buildings no longer looked glamorous. The city was now run down and dirty. The rate of crime in New York probably had something to do with this. Certainly this is what Weegee’s photographs appear to portray.
