Guy Borremans (1934-2012) emigrated from Belgium to Montreal in the mid-fifties and established himself as one of the leading photographer and cinematographers in Quebec and in Canada.

After working as a photographer in Belgium, Borremans found work in Montreal as a press photographer and had his first solo photography exhibit in 1956.

He moved to New York City in 1965 to work for the United Nations Film Department, National Educational Television (NET), as well as Movietone and other production companies. He moved back to Montreal in 1968, and worked in still photography. He also taught film and photography at the University of Montreal, Moncton University and Concordia University.

Borremans has contributed to more than forty productions and has held thirty-three solo exhibitions of his photography.

Guy Borremans photographs are in many private and institutional collections, such as the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, the Museum of Fine Arts in Quebec City and may others.

Please contact Ariel Borremans for more information.

Ariel Borremans

4828 Hutchison, #2

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

H2V 4A3

514-271-3784

arielborremans@me.com

Joe Schwartz
1913 – 2013
Home page: http: //www.joeschwartzphoto.com
Archive contact: Paula Motlo – joeschwartzphotos@gmail.com

Joe Schwartz (American, b. July 6, 1913 – d. March 13, 2013) was born to immigrant
parents from Eastern Europe, on the top floor of the tenement building at 47 Humboldt
Street in Brooklyn, New York. “Baby” Schwartz began his new life as a “have-not” …
and the “have-nots” were the very people that he chose to photograph during his
lifetime. Joe’s camera became his notes, sketches, diary, memory identifiers, and his
key to the many doors he was afraid to open without the use of the lens. His camera
was used, not as an intruder, but as a participant in each scene.

In the 1930s, David Robbins introduced Joe to the Photo League of New York. It was
there he interacted with the “greats” such as, Margaret Bourke-White, Dorothea Lange,
Ruth Orkin, and Walter Rosenblum. Joe was strongly influenced by the League’s high
standards and humanitarian values. He interacted with many dedicated artists in the
League and pursued his passion – documenting through photography, life on the streets
of New York as well as other areas of America. Joe’s photos captured the dignity of the
“unfortunates” and showed that hope still burned bright in the bellies of the immigrants
and the American Blacks. While focusing on inter-racial cooperation and understanding,
Joe fulfilled his vision – to serve as a philosopher of hope rather than a messenger of
despair.

Joe married in 1939; he served as a combat photographer on Iwo Jima during World
War II; and as a staff member of Leatherback Magazine. During the war his photos were
printed in several notable publications; and in 1946, Joe was a recipient of the Best
Picture of the Year award. Joe graduated from the Fred Archer School of Photography;
worked as a lithographer; owned Color Magic, a successful print shop; and published
his own photography book, Folk Photography: Poems I’ve Never Written.

Schwartz’s photographs have been widely exhibited. His works are part of the
permanent collections at: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History
and Culture (open to the public in 2016 at the National Mall); J. Paul Getty Museum;
Museum of Modern Art New York; Skirball Cultural Center of Los Angeles; Houston
Museum of Fine Arts; National Gallery of Canada; Santa Barbara Museum of Art;
Columbus Museum of Art; Harn Museum in Arizona; and Center for Creative
Photography at the University of Arizona.

Photo captions:

1. TRICYCLE GANG – 1940s, photo by Joe Schwartz – Herkimer Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, p.91

2. SULLIVAN MIDGETS – 1930s, photo by Joe Schwartz – Sullivan Street, Greenwich Village,  Lower Manhattan – Italian street gang – “Nothing creative to do – nothing to be proud of -except to act tough – Kid-Folk seek low-grade excitement to vent their energies and anger.” p.66

3. MISS AMERICA – 1948 – Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – “African American girl at a patriotic gathering.” p.16

4. DOES DISCRIMINATE – 1940s – Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – “National Negro Congress, Citizens Affairs Committee – First black women to picket chain (Woolworths) for jobs. p.116

5. TWO’S A TEAM – 1940s – Kingsboro Federal low cost housing project, Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – (a mural of this photo is currently on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. in front of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture that’s being built). p.41

6. WORK DONE, A FLIGHT BEGUN – 1939 – (year of the New York’s World Fair) – Soho district Remembering the Photo League of NYC – 18 Saint Marks Place – Sign: “Accordion Repairing” – Man on stairs, a window shade repairman, has a bag full of window shades. p210

Alexander Artemiev was born March 25, 1903 in Gomel, Belarus, Russia. He was the youngest child of nine children. His prosperous family educated him in the gynazium where his older brother was the principal. Russia was in great turmoil in 1917, and Alexander, as well as so many others, was caught up in these changing times. He fought as a young teenager in the White Army. He said he liked the uniform and had to do this for his family’s land and property. In the army he was wounded in his left leg, which gave him trouble all his later life. He fled and went into exile for many years in Europe (Belgrade, Prague, Paris), until he was able to enter America. He arrived at Ellis Island in June of 1922 under the name Alexander Artway.

For the next 18 years Artway remained in New York City. He had to learn a new life; adjusting from living on a sprawling Russian farm to very close urban quarters. He worked more with his hands than with his mind, since his European degrees were meaningless in the United States. Away from all family but his brother John (Sergei), Alexander had to seek out new connections. He found Lena, a woman whose family was still in Ukraine. The two explored the city together and carried on an affair that lasted many years.

In New York, Artway was very fascinated by the skyscrapers going up. He recorded these buildings from every angle and rooftop, and perhaps even from airplanes. He attended and taught at NYU, taking a degree in architecture in 1934. Before going to NYU (with the aid of an organization called the Russian Student Fund) he joined the Merchant Marines. He later became a captain of ships and sailed around the world taking pictures of the foreign lands he visited. There are many beautiful studies of skies, clouds, and the ocean. He saw much more of the world than the average person of these times and led an unconventional life.

From his photographs it appears he was both excited and lonely. From his letters we can see that he was very attached to his mother and family back home. In fact, he returned to Russia in 1936 and ’37 to see them, a very risky business. The photographs from this trip to Gomel are touched by a tenderness and nostalgia found nowhere else in his work; they paint a picture of a man returning to his true roots. Even though he is pictured in these photographs in his New York City fine suits and hats, hair-line receding, one can spot a little boy’s grin in the photographs of Alex and his mother.

He documented New York City life yet avoided photographing people he did not know. He recorded city streets, friends, his love life, animals, churches, and of course, architecture. His eye was unique, and his negatives are marked by a modernist aesthetic with a touch of pictorialist romanticism. He photographed nearly compulsively for about 15 years and only slowed down after the birth of his first child. In Philadelphia he became a true family man, and the photographs after 1942 are reflective of Artway’s new identity.

It seems unlikely Artway could have imagined the form which his photographs now take. For him, they were a record of his life, of the compositions he saw around him, of a life well-lived. Now they form the Alexander Artway Archive made up of 4,000 negatives and 3,000 prints all neatly organized in plastic sleeves and black boxes. These are his legacy to his daughter Jeanette. The photographs from Russia, the portraits of his family and friends have become her heritage and her link to a family she’s never known. Now, as we begin to share these images with the public, we hope the photographs will become the heritage of many others. They tell the story of the trials and triumphs of an adventurous immigrant forging a life in America.

For more information please visit our website at www.alexanderartway.com or contact alexanderartwayarchive@gmail.com.