For Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee, the ten years beginning with 1935 were teeming with gruesome murders, gangsters, tenement fires, and a leering audience of New Yorkers who poured onto the streets to watch it all go down. The International Center of Photography’s latest exhibition, “Murder Is My Business,” sheds new light on the post-prohibition urban nighttime that Weegee illuminated with his camera’s unforgiving flash. Borrowing its title from Weegee’s self-curated Photo League show of 1941, the I.C.P. pairs his iconic noir imagery with an intimate glimpse into his process. Weegee’s work life and personality come into focus through a wide range of portraits, papers, and paraphernalia that open up his various working spaces, from his studio to the trunk of his car, as well as his interactions with the police, victims, and criminals. Here’s a peek.
_All images © Weegee / International Center of Photography
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