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N. Jay Jaffee

Posted on March 3, 2023 by Julie Grahame in Member Profile
Woman Selling Vegetables, 1950
Two Men in Subway, IRT, New York City, 1952
Tire Store, Pennsylvania Avenue, Brooklyn, 1953

Morris Meat Market, Blake Avenue, East New York, Brooklyn, 1950
Kishke King, Brownsville, Brooklyn, 1953
Self-Portrait, New York City, 1973

Cyrisse Jaffee
https://njayjaffee.com/

N. Jay Jaffee (1921–1999) was a New York photographer who captured the lives of ordinary (and sometimes famous) people, city streets and country landscapes, political movements and private moments. As Janie Welker, curator at the Heckscher Museum in Huntington, New York, noted: “He saw and recorded human activity: a lonely, windswept boardwalk; a whimsical sculpture; men sunning themselves amidst the city grime; the crisp balance of lines and light in a sparkling cityscape; a teddy bear on a clothesline. His photographs not only record the instant, they communicate the substance. The images are exquisite, enduring expositions of lights and shadow, visual textures in balanced tension. They are also filled with wit and humor, and a profound understanding of the ironies in all of our lives.”

In the 1940s and 1950s, Jaffee began photographing the Brooklyn neighborhoods in which he grew up. Manhattan also beckoned, as did Queens, and eventually Long Island. His formal training came after he had been photographing for some time. He attended classes taught by Sid Grossman, of the legendary Photo League, and met with Edward Steichen, then curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1950, two of his photographs were included in the MOMA group show “Fifty-One American Photographers.”

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Jaffee continued documenting street life in New York, as well as Paris, Canada, New England, and elsewhere. His commitment to social justice, including the anti-war and civil rights movements, led him to photograph political demonstrations, rallies, and concerts. His work also included portraits of well-known subjects, such as Yoko Ono, Pete Seeger, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Sid Grossman, Dan Weiner, Felrath Hines, and Stan Brodsky. Jaffee’s later work focused on images of the land and seascapes—dramatic or serene—poetic statements about the beauty and mystery of the natural environment.

Jaffee’s photographs have been acquired by major museums and institutions, including MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, National Portrait Gallery, Library of Congress, National Museum of American Art, New York Public Library, Bibliotheque Nationale, George Eastman House, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Exhibits include a major solo show, “Inward Image,” at the Brooklyn Museum in 1981; a 50-year retrospective in 1999, “From Coney Island to Caumsett,” at the Heckscher Museum of Art, and “N. Jay Jaffee Photographs: From Public to Personal” at the University of Maryland in 2014.

Jaffee’s work has been featured in college courses at Yale University, Skidmore College, and Binghamton University. His photographs have also appeared in many magazines and books, including American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital, edited by Keith David, and Cityscapes: A History of New York in Images by Howard B. Rock and Deborah Dash Moore. His book of early photographs, “N. Jay Jaffee: Photographs 1947-1956,” was published in 1976.

Jurgen Schadeberg

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

Jurgen Schadeberg solo exhibition opens Friday, February 10, 2023, at Capitis Galerie in Hamburg.

 

“Marcel Marceau: Master Of Mime”

Posted on February 9, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

Marcel Marceau and Ben Martin, photo by Ben Martin

A special exhibition at New York’s National Arts Club features photographs of Marcel Marceau by Ben Martin, to coincide with the centenary of Marceau’s birth. Martin was a Time/Life photographer who produced the work in close collaboration with the famed pantomime artist for the book “Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime,” released in 1978.

A revised edition of this photographic portrait of the artist in performance and off-stage will be published by classic actress and book publisher Kathryn Leigh Scott – Ben Martin was her former husband. “Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime” will be published by Cumberland Press and released in March 2023 to coincide with the exhibition.

Robert Kalman: What’s It Like for You to Be an American?

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

© Robert Kalman

“What’s It Like for You to Be an American?” is an ongoing project by Robert Kalman, and he is seeking help.

I’ve been wondering what Americans think of themselves in these fraught, divisive times. What is their (and our) sense of identity as Americans? So, I went out into the street and asked, “What’s it like for you to be an American?” and invited my subjects to answer on a single notebook page. Their responses proved to be a mix of sincere, emotional expressions: pride, deep ambivalence and even shame.

I made their portraits with a large format 8×10 camera, positioning individuals identically, in a formally structured way. The result is a series of closely related images of distinctly diverse American faces. I was aiming for a type of democracy expressed through portrait photographs. From many, one: e pluribus unum.

“In terms of guidance, we need place-specific information on where we are likely to encounter a decent amount of pedestrian foot traffic throughout the day. In our experience, diners, restaurants, farmers’ markets and grocery stores are good possibilities, but it helps to have information  locating them. Green spaces like public parks are also likely areas, as are any other places in the city where people tend to congregate. Any assistance you can give us will be immensely helpful.” Email Robert if you can help.

Oklahoma City
Amarillo
Lubbock
Abilene, TX
Shreveport
Vicksburg
Memphis
Lexington, KY
Louisville
Columbus, OH
San Francisco
Anywhere on the Pacific coast between LA and SF and SF and Oregon

The Copyright Claims Board – What We Know So Far

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

On Wednesday, February 1, at 1 p.m. ET, the Copyright Alliance—in partnership with 15 Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) organizations across the U.S.—will host a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) webinar titled What We Know About the CCB Thus Far.

The event speakers will take an in-depth look at how things are working with the CCB seven months after its launch by the U.S. Copyright Office. There have been interesting developments and challenges that may help guide prospective CCB claimants and respondents, and other interested parties regarding this new copyright small claims tribunal.

Read more and sign up here.

John Milisenda

Posted on January 23, 2023 by Julie Grahame in Member Profile
1970
1975
1977

1979
1977
1969

John Milisenda

“60 Years of Family Photography”

“The subjects in my photography are my mother, father and developmentally disabled brother. I have been photographing them for over 55 years. My family photography has been in over 100 shows and are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Harry Ransom Collection and Bibliotheque de nationale, Paris. These Images have also appeared in the New York Times, and Smithsonian Magazine. My mother and father are deceased.”

Photos of Puerto Rican life in New York in the ‘60s and ‘70s

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

George Malave’s photos document the many faces of a marginalised community growing up amid urban decay. He got his start documenting New York’s Puerto Rican community during the 1960s and ‘70s, chronicling a people persevering against the odds. Read more in Huck.

George S. Zimbel, 1929-2023

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

Irish Dance, by George Zimbel

The American-Canadian humanist photographer George S. Zimbel was one of the last elders of photography faithful to the legacy of the Photo League, who, in the fifties, imbued their pictures with a personal commitment towards the people and the social landscapes they documented. Zimbel’s work is collected by major museums internationally, he has published numerous books. In 2016 he was the subject of an award winning feature documentary on his work called “Zimbelism”.

Tony Vaccaro, 1922-2022

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Julie Grahame in News

“Tony Vaccaro is one of the few people alive who can claim to have survived the Battle of Normandy and COVID-19.” – Monroe Gallery.

Tony Vaccaro was an incredible man who seemed to have a positive impact on everyone and left an amazing legacy. Tony got his wish and made it to his 100th birthday, passing away a week later. His son Frank said at Tony’s memorial that Tony never had a bad word to say about anyone and every day was a beautiful day, even if it was cold and rainy. Out thoughts are with Frank and Tony’s daughter-in-law Maria, who look after Tony’s incredible archive. They and Tony were kind enough to host an APAG group at Tony’s studio a few years ago, followed by a memorable meal at Tony’s favorite local Italian restaurant.

Look for the moving documentary “Mentors” starring Tony Vaccaro and his mentee Santi Visalli.

George Malave: A Collection of Photographs from 1968 – 1979

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Julie Grahame in News

George Malave: A Collection of Photographs from 1968 – 1979, features a selection of works from prolific photographer, and original En Foco Member, George Malave including: Varet Street Kids, Third Avenue El, and other historic images of the Bronx.

Exhibition on View: November 1, 2022 – January 1, 2023 on the En Foco website.

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