The Return of Weegee The Great
Legendary photographer Arthur Fellig-- AKA. Weegee-- is back at The ICP with a show called Murder is My Business, tabloid-era black and whites of thugs, killers, victims and bystanders. Shot in the 1930s and '40s, when the ambitious Austro-Hungarian immigrant practically invented the tabloid photography genre in New York, his photos-taken with a popping flash bulb that created dramatic bursts of light-are masterpieces of composition and raw human drama. Looking like stills from lost film noir movies, they influenced the genre and eventually led Fellig to work in the movie business.
Patrolling the city's mean streets, Weegee's photos document a city that has had its rough edges smoothed over by gentrification and development. The show opens today and should be seen by anyone with an interest in the history of New York City or the history of photography.
