New York City Archives - Hipstercrite

The Photography of WeeGee: Are Crime Scene Photos Art?

The other day, Flavorwire, one of my favorite pop culture sites, posted a most anticipated art exhibits of 2012 list. In it, they mentioned a photographer I never heard of: WeeGee, or Arthur Fellig.

WeeGee was a press photographer in the 30s and 40’s who documented life and death in New York City. He never shied from photo-taking at crime scenes and made sure to get the most dramatic photos possible (even if it meant staging the photo, as seen with ‘The Fashionable People’ three photos down). According to Wikipedia, WeeGee carried a dark room in his trunk and worked out of nightclubs to ensure his promptness.

WeeGee’s gritty photography quickly earned him acclaim and in the mid 40’s, his work was shown at MOMA, and he released his first book of photography. Later on, he even was honored by the great acting talents of Joe Pesci, who loosely played WeeGee in the film The Public Eye.

What do you think of WeeGee’s work? Do you think it’s exploitative or do you find it an important (more…)

January 11, 2012 by hipstercrite

Austin

In Memory of Esme Barrera

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In the wee hours of New Year’s Day, a young woman was murdered in Austin. She had walked five blocks from a large New Year’s Eve party at the 29th Street Ballroom to her house located just north of the University of Texas campus, a neighborhood people typically feel safe in. She was killed in her home. She was the second woman to be attacked in that neighborhood that night and not the last. The other two women got away and based off of one’s description, the police and the community have an idea of who they’re looking for, but, unfortunately, still no leads.

The young woman’s name was Esme Barrera. I did not know her, though many of my friends and acquaintances did. She was a teacher’s aid at a local elementary school, a mentor at Girls Rock Camp Austin and worked at a highly respected music store here in Austin called Waterloo Records. Friends say that she was an avid music lover, fun lover and all-round special person. Words like “light”, “infectious”, “warm” and “positive” (more…)

January 4, 2012 by hipstercrite