Michael Gaede

1899-1968

Biography

• An American photographer of Austrian birth.

• Emigrated to the US in 1910 to escape prosecution for being Jewish.

• Had many part-time jobs.• Hired as a dark-room tech

in 1924.

Portrait of Weegee

Biography(cont.)

• Quit in 1935 to become a freelance photographer and photographic police reporter.

• Began experimenting with film-making in 1941 and through the 1960’s worked with panoramic photos and distortion.

Origin of his odd Nick-Name

•Weegee’s real name was Usher Fellig; changed to Arther Fellig when he emigrated to the US.

•He earned the nickname ‘Weegee’ from his ability to appear so early to scenes of violence.

•His name is originated from the Ouiji Board.

Police officer and lodge member looking at blanket-covered body of woman trampled to death in excursion-ship stampede, New York, Aug. 18, 1941

Who Did He Influence?

• Weegee is cited as an influence by many photographers including Joel Peter Witkin and Lena Herzog.

Joel Peter Witkin1939-_____

Lena Herzog1970-_____

His Work

• He worked as a night-time photographer, competing to be the first to the scene of a crime.

• He sold his photos to tabloids and photo agencies.

• He eventually quit his job as a police reporter to take photographs for magazines

Weegee often took photos of the deceased after a violent crime or accident.

“The Critic”

•The Critic, November 22, 1943, first published in LIFE, December 6, 1943•“The Critic” is the second name Weegee gave this photo. He originally called it “The Fashionable People”.

His Most Famous Photo

"I go around wearing rose-colored glasses. In other words, we have beauty. We have ugliness. Everybody likes beauty. But there is an ugliness..." -Weegee, in an interview for W.E.A.F. radio on July 11, 1945.

Drunken men in the Bowery, c. 1943

This photo is balanced, though the subject is not.

TIMES SQUARE - early Tuesday morning,

August, 1945

Weegee often took his photos at night using a flash, giving any white in the photo the illusion that it is glowing. There was Dancing in

the Streets of New York, May, 1945

Caffé Bella Napoli,Little Italy, July 1944

(Caffé Bella Napoli) In Little Italy friends meet at the Café to exchange gossip and hear the latest news of the war in Italy.

Charles Sodokoff and Arthur Webber Use

Their Top Hats to Hide Their

Faces, January 27, 1942

They both appear to be embarrassed because they are hiding their faces.

Joy of Living, April 17, 1942

This photo can be considered ironic, as it is a photo of police covering the body of a man who had died in a car accident, yet the movie marquee in the background reads the movie title “Joy of Living”.

Marilyn Monroe (plastic lens), c. 1960

When Weegee quit working as a police photographer, he began to work in distorting photos.

EX.- Marilyn Monroe(Photo taken by Weegee.)

Nude (easel trick and plastic lens),c.1953-6

• Another of Weegee’s distorted photos taken using a formed plastic lens.

• This photo features inverted shades of black and white, as well as high levels of contrast.

Works Cited

• “The Critic” Getty.edu The J. Paul Getty Museum, N/A 3-14-2013

• “Weegee as Witness” Artinamericamagazine.com Art in America, 3-5-12 3-14-2013

Weegee developed photos in the trunk of his car.

Works Cited(Continued)

• “Weegee the Famous” museum.icp.org Weegee’s World, 3-8-1998 3-14-2013

• “American Photographer Weegee- Photojournalist or Paparizzi?” Suite101.com 101, 10-4-2011 3-14-2013

• “Crime Was Weegee’s Oyster” nytimes.com The New York Times, 6-20-2008 3-14-2013

A distorted photo of a cat, taken by Weegee.