Research Catalog

Title

The radical camera : New York's Photo League, 1936-1951 / Mason Klein and Catherine Evans ; with contributions by Maurice Berger, Michael Lesy, Anne Wilkes Tucker.

Author

Klein, Mason.

Publication

New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, 2011.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Evans, Catherine.
• Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.)
• Columbus Museum of Art.

Description

248 p. : ill.; 29 cm.

Summary

"Artists in the Photo League, active from 1936 to 1951, were known for capturing sharply revealing, compelling moments from everyday life. Their focus centered on New York City and its vibrant streets--a newsboy at work, a brass band on a bustling corner, a crowded beach at Coney Island. Though beautiful, the images harbor strong social commentary on issues of class, child labor, and opportunity. The Radical Camera explores the fascinating blend of aesthetics and social activism at the heart of the Photo League, tracing the group's left-leaning roots and idealism to the worker-photography movement in Europe. Influenced by mentors Lewis Hine, Berenice Abbott, and Paul Strand, artists in the Photo League worked within a unique complex comprising a school, a darkroom, a gallery, and a salon, in which photography was discussed as both a means for social change and an art form. The influence of the Photo League artists on modern photography was enormous, ushering in the New York School. Presenting 150 works of the members of the Photo League alongside complementary essays that offer new interpretations of the League's work, ideas, and pedagogy, this beautifully illustrated book features artists including Margaret Bourke-White, Sid Grossman, Morris Engel, Lisette Model, Ruth Orkin, Walter Rosenblum, Aaron Siskind, W. Eugene Smith, and Weegee, among many others"--Provided by publisher.

Subject

• Photo League > Exhibitions
• Photography, Artistic > 20th century > Exhibitions
• Photography > New York (State) > New York > Exhibitions

Note

• Issued in connection with the exhibition organized by organized by the Jewish Museum and the Columbus Museum of Art, held at the Jewish Museum, New York, Nov. 4, 2-11-Mar. 25, 2012, and at three institutions at later dates.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Of politics and poetry: the dilemma of the Photo League / Mason Klein -- Man in the mirror: Harlem document, race and the Photo League / Maurice Berger -- As good as the guys: the women of the Photo League / Catherine Evans -- Paper world / Michael Lesy -- A Rashomon reading / Anne Wilkes Tucker.

Call Number

TR645.N532

ISBN

• 9780300146875 (hardback)
• 0300146876 (hardback)

LCCN

2011020574

OCLC

711045632

Author

Klein, Mason.

Title

The radical camera : New York's Photo League, 1936-1951 / Mason Klein and Catherine Evans ; with contributions by Maurice Berger, Michael Lesy, Anne Wilkes Tucker.

Imprint

New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, 2011.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Added Author

Evans, Catherine.

Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.)

Columbus Museum of Art.

Research Call Number

*R-ART TR645.N532 J394 2011