Weegee

Weegee ca 1945. Photo credits: Régine Debatty, via Wikipedia.

Who was Weegee?

Arthur Fellig, also known by his pseudonym Weegee, was a notable photographer and photojournalist renowned for his striking black and white street photography in the bustling streets of New York City. During the 1930s and 1940s, Weegee worked as a press photographer in Manhattan's Lower East Side. It was during this time that he honed his distinctive style by closely following the city's emergency services and documenting their activities. Much of his work captured raw and unfiltered scenes of urban life, including crime, injury, and death. In addition to his photographic endeavors, Weegee published several books featuring his work and ventured into the realm of cinema. He initially produced his own short films and later collaborated with esteemed film directors such as Jack Donohue and Stanley Kubrick.

Weegee, originally named Ascher Fellig, was born in Złoczów (now Zolochiv, Ukraine) in the region of Austrian Galicia on June 12, 1899. When his family emigrated to New York in 1909, his given name was changed to Arthur.

Bernard Fellig, the head of the family, moved to another country in 1908. His wife and their four children, including their son named "Usher Felik," joined him in 1909. They traveled on the steamship called Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, and Usher's name was spelled that way on the list of passengers traveling in the lower deck. After settling in Brooklyn, Weegee took up various miscellaneous occupations, which included being a street photographer who captured images of children while riding his pony. He also worked as an assistant to a professional photographer.

In 1924, Weegee secured a position as a darkroom technician at Acme Newspictures (later United Press International Photos). However, he left Acme in 1935 to pursue a freelance career in photography. Reflecting on his beginnings, Weegee stated that he took the initiative to create his own job by operating as a freelance photographer. He accomplished this by regularly visiting Manhattan Police Headquarters for two years without possessing a police card or any official credentials. Whenever a story appeared on the police teletype, Weegee would swiftly head to the scene and capture photographs, subsequently selling them to newspapers. His photographs, often centered around the activities at Manhattan police headquarters, were quickly picked up by the Daily News, other tabloids, and even more prestigious publications like Life magazine.

In 1957, after being diagnosed with diabetes, Weegee moved in with Wilma Wilcox, a Quaker social worker whom he had known since the 1940s. Wilcox provided care for him and his work. He continued his artistic pursuits and embarked on extensive travels throughout Europe until 1964, working for the London Daily Mirror and engaging in various photography, film, lecture, and book projects. Sadly, on December 26, 1968, Weegee passed away in New York at the age of 69.

"Unknown Weegee. Cronache americane" exhibition, at Palazzo della Ragione (Broletto Nuovo (Milan)) in Milano (20 june - 12 october 2008).Photo credits: régine debatty, via Wikipedia.

Life

Training

Weegee, originally named Usher Fellig, was born on June 12, 1899, near Lemberg in Austria, which is now known as Zolochiv, Ukraine. However, his life took a new turn when he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1909 at the age of 11. Upon their arrival at Ellis Island, his name was changed to the more American-sounding Arthur. Like many other immigrants, Arthur faced challenging circumstances, growing up in dire poverty. He spent his childhood residing in a tenement building in New York City's Lower East Side alongside his parents and three siblings. His father, Bernard Fellig, struggled to make ends meet by selling goods from a pushcart in the neighborhood, earning a meager wage. Despite these hardships, Bernard maintained his commitment to his Orthodox Jewish faith and observed the Sabbath, even if it meant sacrificing income for his family.

To contribute to the family's finances, Weegee dropped out of school and took on various low-paying jobs whenever opportunities arose. One such job involved assisting a photographer who took pictures of children riding ponies. Weegee quickly realized that even impoverished parents were willing to spend money to have a photograph of their child dressed in their best clothes while atop a pony. This experience marked his first encounter with photography as a potential means of livelihood.

From an early age, Weegee and his father had a strained relationship, largely due to their differing worldviews. The son embraced modern American ideas that contradicted his father's Old World beliefs and religious convictions. Eventually, the tension between them became unbearable, leading Weegee to run away from home at the age of 13. He joined the ranks of thousands of other children living on the harsh streets of the city, sleeping on park benches and taking on odd jobs to survive. Weegee even attempted to establish his own pony ride photography business, which he abandoned when he realized he couldn't properly care for the pony.

In 1923, he secured employment in the darkroom at Acme Newspicture, a prominent photo agency at the time that supplied newspapers across the country with stock photographs. This job provided him with valuable training and instruction in the field of photography.

Weegee used a Speed Graphic with infrared bulbs to shoot in the dark. The Speed Graphic, flash, 3 zinc "D" batteries and a film holder weighed nearly 9 pounds. Selection from Piercing Darkness by Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Photo credits: Danielteolijr, via Wikipedia.

Mature Period

During the mid-1930s in New York City, a time still overshadowed by the Great Depression, earning a living was a daunting task. With the recent end of Prohibition, rival gangs engaged in fierce battles to control illegal activities, and newspapers capitalized on these "wars" to entertain the masses struggling with economic hardship. They constantly sought pictures to accompany these sensationalized stories. Recognizing an opportunity, Weegee embarked on a freelance photography career. He took to the streets of New York City at night, actively seeking out trouble, thus becoming one of the first crime photographers in the city.

Residing in a run-down one-room apartment across from a local police station, Weegee would bribe officers to obtain insider information on crime stories. His uncanny ability to arrive at crime scenes just before the police gave rise to rumors that he consulted an Ouija board for guidance. Embracing this mystique, he adopted the name "Weegee" (possibly misspelling Ouija), and the moniker stuck. After developing connections with the police over two years, Weegee became the first American citizen to have a police radio installed in his car. The car, rumored to serve as both a mobile darkroom and an office, enabled Weegee to deliver his photographs to Acme promptly, ensuring inclusion in the early editions. He received $20 for each murder photo and stamped the back of every image with "Credit Photo by Weegee the Famous" to ensure proper recognition for his work.

For a decade, Weegee worked as a freelance photographer, submitting his photographs to various publications such as the Herald-Tribune, Daily News, Post, and Sun. During a significant portion of this time, he held a special contributing photographer position at PM Daily from 1940 to 1945. PM provided him with a weekly stipend and paid for each photo they purchased, regardless of publication. Weegee covered a wide range of stories, but it was his crime photographs that garnered attention.

Not only were his photographs well-received in popular media, but they also gained respect within the fine art community. The New York Photo League organized an exhibition of his work in 1941, and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) collected and displayed his photographs in 1943. Similar to Lisette Model, Weegee had a profound love for New York City, which he captured in his street photographs, emphasizing the expressions and gestures of his subjects.

Towards the end of his tenure with PM, Weegee published his iconic photo book titled Naked City in 1945. This book featured gruesome images of murders juxtaposed with scenes of people enjoying the city's vibrant nightlife. It quickly became a success, with a Hollywood producer acquiring the rights to its title in 1948. The resulting film noir, filled with murder, suicide, and detective work, drew inspiration from Weegee's provocative photos. However, Naked City marked the pinnacle of Weegee's career as a crime photographer. He transitioned to producing other photo books, including Weegee's People in 1946 and Naked Hollywood in 1953.

Late Period

Weegee's eccentric and flamboyant personality, combined with his dark sense of humor and peculiar behavior, were just as shocking as his photographs. The success of his book Naked City made newspaper readers eager to hear about the crime photographer's escapades. Weegee, self-proclaimed as the "World's Greatest Photographer," happily fulfilled their curiosity by staging photos of himself posing alongside bombs, sitting in police paddy wagons, and standing in police lineups. He excelled in self-promotion and meticulously crafted his public image.

Those who had personal interactions with Weegee described him as a chauvinist with poor personal hygiene, often frequenting brothels in search of dates with strippers. His wife, Margaret Atwood, tolerated these character flaws for a short period. When he introduced himself to her, he allegedly asked, "Are you single and footloose, Babe? I'm going to take you under my wing." They married in 1947, but the whirlwind romance ended quickly, leading to their separation later that year. Eventually, Weegee found companionship with someone who accepted his crude behavior and poor health standards. Wilma Wilcox, a Quaker social worker, possessed the patience to tolerate Weegee's unpredictable ways. Although they never married, they moved in together in 1957 when Weegee, diagnosed with diabetes, required care.

The allure of Hollywood drew Weegee to the West Coast in 1947. While there, he worked as a technical consultant on films and even had small acting roles. Renowned director Stanley Kubrick, known for his dark humor, enlisted Weegee as the still photographer for his Academy Award-winning film, Dr. Strangelove. Despite being busy with work, Weegee despised his time in Hollywood, referring to it as "the land of zombies." He believed that the people there were insincere, claiming they "drank formaldehyde instead of coffee" and lacked sexual organs.

After five years, Weegee had enough and returned to New York in 1952. He began exploring the concept of what he called "art photography," which involved manipulating negatives to distort images. However, when critics and art enthusiasts saw this new work, they concluded that the photographer had lost his way. Undeterred and with his ego intact, Weegee disregarded the negative feedback and continued doing things his own way. Only death could stop him from working. He passed away in 1968, in the city he loved, due to an untreated brain tumor.

The Lower East Side de Manhattan, actually. Photo credits: Infrogmation, via Wikipedia.

Some works: 

Simply Add Boiling Water (1937)

This photograph captures the intense efforts of firefighters battling a raging fire engulfing the American Kitchen Products building, notable for its prominent Hygrade Frankfurters billboard. The title of the image, "Simply Add Boiling Water," derives from the sign positioned across the center of the building, which humorously suggests adding boiling water, while the firefighters are ironically dousing the structure with water. Weegee possessed a remarkable talent for recognizing irony even in the most horrifying images, which became his trademark and increased his chances of selling the photo to newspapers. In the July 1937 edition of Minicam Photography, this particular image was featured in a how-to article accompanied by the caption: "The sign across the center of the building refers to the frankfurters, not the firemen!" This reference highlighted Weegee's unparalleled ability to infuse dark humor into his photographs.

Similar to film noir movies, a cinematic genre that emerged in the 1940s, Weegee's photographs present a stylized and dark version of reality. These distinctive images served as a source of inspiration for film noir due to their departure from naturalness and their capacity to convey a melodramatic power, as noted by art historian John Szarkowski. Szarkowski observed that Weegee's flash revealed terrible and revealing secrets momentarily, much like lightning. Film noir movies, formerly known as melodramas, typically employed murder as a common plot device and were characterized by their fatalistic and menacing nature. "Simply Add Boiling Water" could easily be mistaken as a still frame from one of these films.

Body of girl hit by car on Park Avenue, New York (1938)

"In Body of girl hit by car on Park Avenue, New York," Weegee presents a poignant yet straightforward image that portrays the aftermath of a typical yet gruesome car accident. By placing emphasis on the deceased body covered by a white sheet lying on the street, Weegee creates a compelling composition. He skillfully employs what he refers to as his "Rembrandt light," where the stark contrast of the white sheet against the surrounding darkness captures the covered body in the intense glare of his flash. In the background, a police officer, unable to intervene further, walks away from the scene toward his distant car. Weegee meticulously surveyed the surroundings to determine the optimal angle for capturing the scene, aiming to create a stylized image while also capturing the crucial detail of a black purse next to the body, the sole clue indicating the victim's gender as female.

During the initial ten years of his career, Weegee tirelessly roamed the streets of New York at night, documenting one gruesome incident after another. As art historian Mark Svetov explains, Weegee's news photographs were never random snapshots, despite being captured by a photographer who relied on chance and happenstance. Instead, Weegee's images appeared meticulously arranged, with a focus on their human content. His exceptional ability to select the most poignant and meaningful moment from a given event earned him respect from both the fine art community and the general public—a distinction that remains remarkable even today.

Marilyn Monroe Distortion ( c.1960)

In the photograph titled "Marilyn Monroe Distortion," Weegee employs a kaleidoscope lens to manipulate a portrait he had taken of Marilyn Monroe. Through this distortion technique, her facial features are compressed, resulting in smaller puckering lips, elongated closed eyes, and a nose resembling that of a pig. The iconic beauty of Marilyn Monroe is transformed into a caricature-like representation. Art historian Mark Svetov describes Weegee's use of multiple exposures, melted negatives, and lens manipulation as a "transmogrified sequence" of Marilyn Monroe headshots. This artistic approach not only anticipates but also transcends the Pop movement that gained immense popularity in the art and design world during the 1960s.

During the final two decades of his life, Weegee shifted his focus from photojournalism to what he perceived as more artistic and creative endeavors. He began experimenting with distorting images of famous faces, remarking that he needed a lens that was "out of this world" to capture the peculiar sights and personalities found in Hollywood. While Weegee's distorted works were inspired by his time in Los Angeles, they often faced criticism and were dismissed as kitsch by the art world. The art world tended to celebrate his earlier, more macabre works as true art. However, there were exceptions. Marilyn Monroe, who formed a close friendship with Weegee during his time in Los Angeles, admired his distorted images. Furthermore, Pop artist Andy Warhol not only admired Weegee's distorted photographs but also incorporated them into his own artwork. Today, these distorted images are recognized as significant precursors to the Pop art movement.

Their First Murder (1941)

Weegee skillfully captures the diverse reactions of a startled crowd witnessing the broad daylight murder of a gambler. The victim, Peter Mancuso, was shot while waiting in his car at a stoplight, coinciding with the release of children from P.S. 143 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. In response to this horrifying scene, the children and other bystanders exhibit a range of human emotions and self-absorption. Some laugh, cry, stare in disbelief, or direct their gaze towards the camera. Weegee's flash illuminates their skin, creating a stark contrast against the silhouette of the cityscape in the background. What sets this photograph apart is the presence of the dead body lying at Weegee's feet as he captures the image. For the first time, Weegee portrays the bystanders as the primary subjects of his picture.

This photograph was featured in Weegee's book Naked City, accompanied by his own caption: "A woman relative cried... but neighborhood dead-end kids enjoyed the show when a small-time racketeer was shot and killed." On the facing pages, Weegee juxtaposes images of the bystanders with the depiction of the gambler's lifeless body lying in the street.

Tenement Sleeping During Heat Spell, Lower East Side, New York (1941)

The photograph titled "Tenement Sleeping During Heat Spell, Lower East Side, New York" captures a group of children huddled together, sleeping on a fire escape during a sweltering New York heatwave. The image, taken from an elevated perspective at night, reveals the confined rectangular space of the fire escape, framed by a metal bar and a clothesline, emphasizing the children's cramped sleeping quarters. Weegee reflects on that particular night, stating, "During the summer, I always keep an eye out for hot weather pictures. I captured this one on the East Side while looking down on the fire escape. There were more children, but I couldn't capture them all. I used to sleep like this during summers when I was a child." Drawing upon his own impoverished upbringing, Weegee held a particular compassion for children and often directed his camera towards the poor and exploited.

The existence of this image owes much to Weegee's employment with the progressive tabloid newspaper, PM. Without this opportunity, the photograph may never have come to fruition. Recognizing the precariousness and significance of the image's existence, Weegee once remarked, "When people look at these pictures of people sleeping on fire escapes, and kids and little girls holding cats, they just won't believe a thing like that has happened." PM provided Weegee with the artistic freedom to create a diverse body of work, unlike other newspapers that only sought morbid crime scene images. The newspaper itself was truly radical in its defiance of conventions, with a mission statement declaring, "PM is against people who push other people around. PM accepts no advertising. PM belongs to no political party. PM is absolutely free and uncensored. PM's sole source of income is its readers - to whom it alone is responsible. PM is one newspaper that can and dares to tell the truth." For Weegee, working for PM was crucial for his artistic development.

The Legacy

Weegee can be viewed as the American equivalent of Brassaï, who captured nighttime street scenes in Paris. Weegee's subjects, such as nudists, circus performers, freaks, and individuals from the streets, were later explored and expanded upon by Diane Arbus in the early 1960s.

In 1980, Wilma Wilcox, Weegee's partner, along with Sidney Kaplan, Aaron Rose, and Larry Silver, established The Weegee Portfolio Incorporated. Their objective was to create an exclusive collection of photographic prints from Weegee's original negatives. As part of her bequest, Wilma Wilcox donated Weegee's entire archive, consisting of 16,000 photographs and 7,000 negatives, to the International Center of Photography in New York. This donation, along with the transfer of copyright, served as the basis for several exhibitions and books, including Weegee's World edited by Miles Barth (1997) and Unknown Weegee edited by Cynthia Young (2006). The first major exhibition, titled Weegee's World: Life, Death, and the Human Drama, featured 329 images and took place in 1997. Subsequent exhibitions included Weegee's Trick Photography in 2002, showcasing distorted and caricatured images, and Unknown Weegee in 2006, which focused on his less violent, post-tabloid photographs.

In 2009, the Kunsthalle Vienna hosted an exhibition titled "Elevator to the Gallows," combining contemporary installations by Banks Violette with Weegee's nocturnal photography. In 2012, the International Center of Photography (ICP) organized another Weegee exhibition titled "Murder Is My Business." Additionally, a exhibition called "Weegee: The Naked City" opened at the Multimedia Art Museum in Moscow. Weegee's autobiography, originally published in 1961 as "Weegee by Weegee" and out of print for some time, was reissued in 2013 under the title "Weegee: The Autobiography."

From April 2013 to July 2014, the Flatz Museum in Dornbirn, Austria, presented an exhibition called "Weegee: How to Photograph a Corpse." It featured a selection of relevant photographs from Weegee's portfolio, including many vintage prints, accompanied by original newspapers and magazines from the time when the photos were taken.

Key Points

•  Weegee's approach to photojournalism was centered on the compelling narrative and impactful visuals of his pictures, which brought a fresh perspective to human interest stories. His photographs shed light on the eccentricities and flaws of the urban population, unveiling an unfamiliar underworld. Historian Graham Clarke highlights that Weegee captured a hidden city through his lens, encompassing subjects such as murder victims, muggers, transvestites, and intimate moments. His insatiable eye constantly sought out sensational and enigmatic photographs, pushing the boundaries of what could be revealed.         

•  Weegee was employed by PM Daily, a newspaper that revolutionized reportage by introducing new subjects and expanding the range of photographic images. Weegee fully capitalized on this opportunity, capturing crime scenes, street individuals, and circus performers to diversify his portfolio. His photographs carried their own significance and became the foundation for a variety of photo-essays, eventually  culminating in his renowned photo book, Naked City.         

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  Similar to the forward-thinking nature of the progressive press he worked for, Weegee found himself captivated by the field's novelty, potential, and influence. As a result, he dedicated the final chapter of his book, Naked City, to a lengthy essay titled "Camera Tips." In this chapter, Weegee provided guidance to aspiring photographers, urging them not to rely on guesswork for focusing, but instead to practice capturing subjects at fixed distances of six and ten feet. He cautioned amateur photographers against being enticed by the allure of modern, sophisticated flashes, advising them to stick with the tried-and-true flash bulbs that he himself still utilized. Weegee's preferred method of illumination, the press flash-gun, allowed him to dramatically expose his subjects, resulting in sensationalized images.        

Summary

Weegee, a renowned photojournalist, specialized in capturing spontaneous images of people on the streets, in bars, and at crime scenes. He adopted the professional name Weegee, pronounced as it sounds, inspired by the popular divination tool called the Ouija board. This choice of name drew a parallel between his supposed ability to sense crimes before they happened and the mystical nature of the Ouija board. In reality, Weegee's "sense" was attributed to his radio, which he used to monitor the police frequency, allowing him to arrive at crime scenes ahead of the authorities. This unique approach to his work elevated his status and he relished in his own notoriety.

However, beyond his personal fame, Weegee's voyeuristic photographs provided a glimpse into the gritty and hidden aspects of New York City. He skillfully combined elements of popular culture with the experiences of immigrants and the working class, capturing the attention of both the news media and the fine art community.