Weegee, quintessential New Yorker, at ICP

Speed Graphic wielding, cigar chomping, not looking anything like Joe Pesci, the photographer Weegee is Diane Arbus' long lost uncle, kindred spirit, hero, or all three. If you're a Weegee fan, distant relative or kindred spirit, you might want to get yourself to the ICP www.icp.org to check out the "Unknown Weegee", an exhibit of previously unexhibited or little published work, before it ends August 27.

If you're not familiar with Weegee, born Usher Fellig, aka Arthur Fellig, do not see this exhibit until you get some background and see his winners first:
http://museum.icp.org/museum/collections/special/weegee/

Probably my favorite Weegee is "Just Add Boiling Water". That's what it says on the side of the building being doused by fire hoses.
http://www.amber-online.com/gallery/exhibition46/index.html (click on the image on the right).
I've never heard him speak. Here's a link to an audio interview:
http://www.soundportraits.org/on-air/weegee/ No offence Mr. Pesci, I do appreciate that there's now a movie about him, but you don't sound like Weegee either. And speaking of movies, today I learned that Weegee was a consultant to film director and kindred spirit Stanley Kubrick for the making of "Dr. Strangelove", one of my all time favorites.

If you'd like to see a beautifully printed signed first edition of Weegee's "Naked City", buy me lunch! I have it, given to me by my friend Amy Hanan who knew Weegee when she was a copyboy at the NY Post. She'd accompany Weegee on shoots, delivering plates to the newspaper, then at 75 West street. It's dedicated "TO YOU THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK" and continues signed "& Amy Hanan, You Too can be a Weegee, 1945"
My prize possession. Don't forget, you buy lunch, you see the book. I'll bring the white gloves.

Jerry Dantzic Photographs at WBGO, Newark

Jerry Dantzic's jazz work, mostly gelatin silver prints, currently showing at WBGO in Newark is awesome. You won't find me using the word "awesome" very often, but here it applies.
www.wbgo.org/events/gallery/jerryDantzic.asp

Photojournalist, illustrator, educator, ASMP member since 1956, looking at his work makes me want to toss out all my digital crap and go back to Tri-x 35mm full time (I'm this close to taking a sledge hammer to my Epson printers). I love that film grain, and that charged spontaneity the occasional camera movement creates in the images. Every once in a while I come across a photographer whose body of work just screams that this is what they were born to do. As natural as breathing. That amazes me. From what I saw at last night's opening, a book was on display as well, I get the feeling that Jerry Dantzic might be in that category. I have to find out more about this guy.

Jerry's son Grayson Dantzic , a musician, songwriter, and Dantzic's archivist was at last night's opening, as was photographer Joe Pobereskin, long time friend of Jerry (and me) and current president of the New Jersey chapter of ASMP www.asmp-nj.org.

Check the BGO link above for times. WBGO is a half block from NJ-PAC. Don't bother trying to find street parking. There's an underground garage right across the street.