A Berlin gallery in the Charlottenburg district is celebrating renowned American photographer Joël Meyerowitz's 85th birthday with a comprehensive exhibition spanning six decades of work from one of street photography's most influential figures. The retrospective showcases the evolution of an artist who has dedicated himself to capturing the essence of fleeting moments and the mystery of time through his lens.
Meyerowitz describes his approach to photography as positioning himself "in a corner, melting into reality," emphasizing his ability to become invisible as the key to being a powerful, first-rate observer. For more than sixty years, he has immersed himself in the world passing before his eyes, questioning the inextricable mystery of time while creating images that serve as comforting barriers against its passage. His work demonstrates a mastery of capturing the decisive moment – that split second that would not have been the same one second before or after.
The exhibition highlights Meyerowitz's exceptional talent for freezing moments in time, from suggestive looks and furtive expressions to insightful street scenes. His early black and white New York photographs showcase his ability to capture precise instants with remarkable timing and composition. Perhaps drawing from his knowledge of painting, Meyerowitz naturally creates masterful compositions amid urban chaos, displaying a patience that thrives on perceiving the extraordinary in everyday life.
The retrospective features iconic moments that demonstrate Meyerowitz's skill as a street photographer who seamlessly blends into daily life. Visitors can see his photograph of a man walking down a New York street carrying his standard poodle, captured as if Meyerowitz were simply sitting on a bench. Another image shows a woman playing with her dog in the Jardin du Luxembourg, the pet jumping to the height of her head, taken while Meyerowitz appeared to be casually walking among passersby. Additional works include a smoking woman exchanging a mischievous look with him from a bar counter, and a couple kissing beneath a "Kiss me, stupid" poster while queuing for the next movie session.
While Meyerowitz's first works were monochrome, notably inspired by his meeting with Robert Frank during a New York film shoot, the art history graduate experimented with color photography from the very beginning of his career. Alongside contemporaries Stephen Shore and William Eggleston, he played a crucial role during the 1960s in popularizing color photography until its acceptance as fine art a decade later. Through his lens, Meyerowitz reveals his taste for sagacious details that color irrevocably accentuates, such as his 1963 photograph of a woman shot from a low angle on New York streets, wearing sunglasses with an inscrutable expression, carrying a crocodile handbag and a book titled "The American Character" – which she seemingly embodies.
The exhibition explores Meyerowitz's parallel practices of black and white and color photography through a fascinating series from the late 1960s. In these works, he captured the same shot with two different films just seconds apart, allowing for surgical analysis of the two resulting images and revealing the power nestled in the plurality of ways of seeing. This comparative approach demonstrates the different emotional and aesthetic impacts that each medium can achieve.
Meyerowitz's photographs serve as witnesses to societal changes, with public spaces bearing the scars of both small and significant transformations. His images are filled with social signs reflecting everything from the advent of capitalism to women's rights movements. The retrospective presents iconic female portraits from the 1980s in Massachusetts, from which a liberating freedom emanates. Notable among these is his portrait of Sarah from his "Redheads" series (1990), featuring red skin, a tawny mane, and a magnetic gaze that captures the viewer's attention.
While Meyerowitz has an inescapable attraction to beauty, his photographs also bear witness to tragedy and drama. The exhibition dedicates special space to images from his series produced in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He regularly visited the newly named Ground Zero without authorization to document the massive reconstruction project, creating a powerful series showing workers appearing like tiny ants among the immensity of the ruins. These photographs serve as both historical documentation and artistic interpretation of one of America's most traumatic events.
The comprehensive retrospective "Meyerowitz: A Retrospective" runs until December 16, 2023, at Galerie Hermann Noack, located at Am Spreebord 9a, 10589 Berlin. The exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience the full scope of Meyerowitz's artistic journey, from his early street photography experiments to his mature works that have helped define contemporary photography. More information about the exhibition can be found at the gallery's website, and additional details about the artist's work are available on his official website.
