Joel Meyerowitz
Encyclopedia
Joel Meyerowitz is a street photographer who began photographing in color in 1962 and was an early advocate of the use of color during a time when there was significant resistance to the idea of color photography as serious art. In the early 70's he taught the first color course at Cooper Union
where many of today's renowned color photographers studied with him.
Meyerowitz graduated from Ohio State University
in 1959 with a degree in painting and medical illustration. Inspired by seeing Robert Frank
at work, Meyerowitz quit his job as an art director at an advertising agency and took to the streets of New York City with a 35mm camera and black-and-white film, alongside Garry Winogrand
, Tony Ray-Jones
, Lee Friedlander
, Tod Papageorge
and Diane Arbus
. He drew inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson
, Robert Frank
and Eugène Atget
, he has said "In the pantheon of greats there is Robert Frank and there is Atget"
He made a significant switch to large format
color photography in 1976, often using an 8x10 large format camera to produce photographs of places and people. Along with Stephen Shore
and William Eggleston
they became the first group of young artists to use color exclusively. Their work, seen and published in America and Europe, influenced the next generation's, particularly the young German artists', turn toward using color in photography.
Meyerowitz is the author of 16 books including Cape Light, considered a classic work of color photography.
Meyerowitz has published a photographic archive of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and was the only photographer allowed unrestricted access to ground zero
immediately following the attack. A number of these images have since been made into a book, Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
.
Meyerowitz appeared extensively in the 2006 BBC Four
documentary The Genius Of Photographyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/.
Meyerowitz's photograph, "New York City, 1963" is used in Taking Back Sunday
's third album, Louder Now
.
and the National Endowment for the Humanities
awards.
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
where many of today's renowned color photographers studied with him.
Meyerowitz graduated from Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
in 1959 with a degree in painting and medical illustration. Inspired by seeing Robert Frank
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
at work, Meyerowitz quit his job as an art director at an advertising agency and took to the streets of New York City with a 35mm camera and black-and-white film, alongside Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand
Garry Winogrand was a street photographer known for his portrayal of America in the mid-20th century. John Szarkowski called him the central photographer of his generation....
, Tony Ray-Jones
Tony Ray-Jones
Tony Ray-Jones was an English photographer.Born Holroyd Anthony Ray-Jones, he was the youngest son of Raymond Ray-Jones , a painter and etcher who died when his son was only eight months old, and Effie Irene Pearce, who would work as a physiotherapist...
, Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 70s, working primarily with 35mm cameras and black and white film, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban "social landscape," with many of the photographs including fragments of...
, Tod Papageorge
Tod Papageorge
Tod Papageorge is an American art photographer whose career began in the New York City street photography movement of the 1960s.Papageorge started taking photographs in 1962 as an English literature major at the University of New Hampshire....
and Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
. He drew inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
, Robert Frank
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
and Eugène Atget
Eugène Atget
Eugène Atget was a French photographer noted for his photographs documenting the architecture and street scenes of Paris....
, he has said "In the pantheon of greats there is Robert Frank and there is Atget"
He made a significant switch to large format
Large format
Large format refers to any imaging format of 4×5 inches or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the 6×6 cm or 6×9 cm size of Hasselblad, Rollei, Kowa, Pentax etc cameras , and much larger than the 24×36 mm frame of 35 mm format.The main advantage...
color photography in 1976, often using an 8x10 large format camera to produce photographs of places and people. Along with Stephen Shore
Stephen Shore
Stephen Shore is an American photographer known for his deadpan images of banal scenes and objects in the United States, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography.- Life and work :...
and William Eggleston
William Eggleston
William Eggleston , is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium to display in art galleries—which, until the 1970s, often tended to privilege work by photographers making black-and-white prints.- Early years...
they became the first group of young artists to use color exclusively. Their work, seen and published in America and Europe, influenced the next generation's, particularly the young German artists', turn toward using color in photography.
Meyerowitz is the author of 16 books including Cape Light, considered a classic work of color photography.
Meyerowitz has published a photographic archive of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and was the only photographer allowed unrestricted access to ground zero
Ground zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
immediately following the attack. A number of these images have since been made into a book, Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Aftermath: World Trade Center Archive
Aftermath: World Trade Center is a book that documents the cleanup process after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was compiled by photographer Joel Meyerowitz and published on the fifth anniversary of the attacks by Phaidon Press...
.
Meyerowitz appeared extensively in the 2006 BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
documentary The Genius Of Photographyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/.
Meyerowitz's photograph, "New York City, 1963" is used in Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
's third album, Louder Now
Louder Now
Louder Now is the third album by American rock band, Taking Back Sunday, released on April 25, 2006 through Hollywood Records. The first single off the album is "MakeDamnSure". The song "Error Operator" has been released on the Fantastic Four 2005 film soundtrack, but has been revamped for Louder...
.
Awards
Meyerowitz is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of both the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
and the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
awards.
Books
- Cape Light: Color Photographs by Joel Meyerowitz. 1979. New York Graphic Society. ISBN 0-87846-132-9
- St.Louis and the Arch. 1980. New York Graphic Society. ISBN 0-82121-093-9
- Wild Flowers. 1983. Bulfinch Press. ISBN 0-82121-528-0
- A Summer's Day. 1985. Crown. ISBN 0-81291-182-2
- Redheads. 1991. Rizzoli. ISBN 0-84781-419-X
- Bay/Sky. 1993. Bulfinch Press. ISBN 0-82122-037-3
- Bystander: A History of Street Photography. With Colin Westerbeck. 1994. Bullfinsh Press. ISBN 0-82121-755-0
- At the Water's Edge. 1996. Bulfinch Press. ISBN 0-82122-310-0
- Tuscany: Inside the Light. 2003. Barnes & Noble Publishing. ISBN 1-40274-321-1
- Aftermath. 2006. Phaidon. ISBN 0-71484-655-4
- Out of the Ordinary 1970-1980. 2007. Episode Publishers. ISBN 9-05973-067-4
- AftermathAftermath: World Trade Center ArchiveAftermath: World Trade Center is a book that documents the cleanup process after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was compiled by photographer Joel Meyerowitz and published on the fifth anniversary of the attacks by Phaidon Press...
. 2011. Phaidon. ISBN 0-71486-212-6