Weegee

Weegee is best known for his tabloid news photographs of urban crowds, crime scenes, and New York City nightlife from 1928 to 1968. He photographs a time when the effects of the Wall Street crash was very relevant in everyone's lives. He is fixated on documenting the drama of the city, using figurative aspects to represent the character of New York He typically photographs at night using flash to highlight and depict the charisma of the secret street life. His high contrast images show his love of the extreme, which is reflected in the actions of the scenes (murder, transvestites and crime)

 Child labour abolished in America in 1938 Photo shows children playing in the street expressing juvenile innocence Reflecting the new found freedom Captures the avant-garde zeitgeist, which bloomed during the great depression

 Removes faces through the use of high contrast which could suggest that the city itself causes the violence and death The framing of the photograph doesnt focus on the death, but of the whole scene which is not very intimate but is more of a spectators view. The use of shadows in his images create a backdrop effect that turn the surroundings into a set. An Ort und Stelle, ca. 1940 Weegee was always at the fore front of the action as he was the only photographer in New York that was equipped by the police with a police band short wave radio. This had a very strong influence on his work as he was able to see first hand the devastations that the city was creating.

 This image entitled Caretakers which introduces a sight into the workers of New York This photograph deals with the issue of human rights as the workers are shown to be in the same if not a worse environment as the animals This view of circus life could reflect the carnivalesque(Bahktin) feel of the time as this was a time of liberation and modernism which went against the norm and structured ways and routine of standard life before the depression

Weegee has chosen to capture the transvestite as this freedom of sexuality earthed during this freedom Instead of choosing to focus on the police van he focuses on the character and the atmosphere this figure creates within the frame, this reflects his attitude towards the new movement of the city The flash almost makes the image less intimate and therefore the situation seem more accepted in society. Weegee is almost representing the image in a biased way but positively

Weegees interpretation of New York represents the ever changing nature of society through the people of the city and their ways of dealing with the influence of the depression and how they expressed their characters creatively. However Weegee did not necessarily focus on the personal aspects of the characters but mainly the rhythm of the street. The city is an organism created by the environment living alongside the people of the city. Weegees photographs leave you with the notion of rejection or acceptance