Exhibition: ‘Weegee: Society of the Spectacle’ at the International Center of Photography, New York

Exhibition dates: 23rd January – 5th May, 2025

Curator: Clément Chéroux, Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson (FHCB), Paris, in collaboration with the Weegee Archive at the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York

Installation view of the exhibition Weegee: Society of the Spectacle at the International Center of Photography, New York

I have so many current photography exhibitions that there will be mid-week postings for the next two weeks.

I have posted on this exhibition before when it was presented at the Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris, January – May 2024 (“To see ourselves as others see us”) and Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid, September 2024 – January 2025 (“Self Seen”) – with a slightly different title but the same exhibition – but it is always interesting to imbibe the creativity and culture photography of Weegee’s work.

While there are the famous photographs as seen in previous postings, there are also new photographs to examine, one’s that you hardly ever see: for example [Clothing salesman, Easter Sunday, Harlem, New York] (c. 1940, below); [Mrs. Bernice Lythcott and son looking through window shattered by rock-throwing hoodlums, Harlem, New York] (October 18, 1943, below); the infrared photograph [Lovers at the movies, New York] (c. 1943, below); Ladies keep their money in their stockings… (1944, below); and Night… a black velvet curtain has dropped over the white sky… (March 2, 1944, below) – all taken during the Second World War.

Dr Marcus Bunyan

Many thankx to the ICP for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
On the Spot
December 9, 1939
International Center of Photography
Purchase, with funds provided by Lois and Bruce Zenkel Purchase Fund, 1982
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Clothing salesman, Easter Sunday, Harlem, New York]
c. 1940
International Center of Photography
Purchase, with funds provided by the Lois and Bruce Zenkel Purchase Fund, 1982
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Afternoon crowd at Coney Island, Brooklyn]
July 21, 1940
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Anthony Esposito, booked on suspicion of killing a policeman, New York]
January 16, 1941
International Center of Photography
Purchase, with funds provided by the Lois and Bruce Zenkel
Purchase Fund, 1982
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

The career of photographer Weegee (born Arthur Fellig, 1899-1968) is often divided into two distinct phases, one gritty, the other glamorous. Celebrated for his sensationalist images of crime scenes, fires, car crashes, and the onlookers who witnessed these harrowing events across New York City in the 1930s and ’40s, Weegee also spent time in his career documenting the joyful crowds, premieres, and celebrities of Hollywood. His documentary images on both coasts gave way to experimental portraits late in his life, which were distorted using a kaleidoscope and other tricks from his technical toolbox. Weegee: Society of the Spectacle aims to reconcile these two sides of Weegee through an investigation of his focus, throughout his career, on a critique of 20th century popular culture and its insatiable appetite for spectacle.

Weegee: Society of the Spectacle is curated by Clément Chéroux, Director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson (FHCB), Paris, in collaboration with the Weegee Archive at the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York. The exhibition opens at ICP after a run at the FHCB and the Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid. The exhibition will be accompanied by the publication Weegee: Society of the Spectacle (Thames & Hudson).

Text from the ICP website

Installation views of the exhibition Weegee: Society of the Spectacle at the International Center of Photography, New York

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Circus performer Miss Victory (Eglie Zacchini) shot out of a cannon at the speed of 360 feet a second, New York]
June 28, 1943
Gelatin silver print
13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (34.3 x 27.3cm)
Gift of Lee C. Sievan, 1984
© International Center of Photography

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Mrs. Bernice Lythcott and son looking through window shattered by rock-throwing hoodlums, Harlem, New York]
October 18, 1943
International Center of Photography. Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
Simply Add Boiling Water
December 18, 1943
International Center of Photography
Purchase, with funds provided by Lois and Bruce Zenkel Purchase Fund, 1982
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Lovers at the movies, New York]
c. 1943
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
Ladies keep their money in their stockings…
1944
International Center of Photography
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
Night… a black velvet curtain has dropped over the white sky… a few mothers went looking for their kids… found them here… dragged them home for supper… but they are back again… but that’s the same Empire State Building in the Background….
March 2, 1944
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

The International Center of Photography (ICP) is pleased to announce Weegee:
Society of the Spectacle, an exhibition presented in partnership with Fondation
Henri Cartier-Bresson, Paris and curated by Clément Chéroux, Director of the
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson.

This exhibition revisits Weegee’s bold, boundary-pushing perspective and
celebrates his pioneering role in documenting spectacle, from crime and tragedy on New York City’s streets to distorted portraits of iconic Hollywood celebrities. The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication created by the Fondation and Thames & Hudson that explores the impact of Weegee’s art and his critical view of urban spectacle. ICP is excited to present the new English-language edition of this important study of Weegee’s work.

Weegee: Society of the Spectacle marks the sixth major presentation of Weegee’s work at ICP and the first since it relocated to Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighbourhood, the very same one that Weegee transformed into an urban stage in his photographs. The exhibition arrives at a time when his commentary on the blurred lines between reality and performance and news and entertainment feel newly relevant and urgent in the age of smartphones and viral media where every individual has become both a voyeur and a consumer of spectacle.

Drawn largely from ICP’s Weegee collection, itself comprised of his entire studio archive and also the most comprehensive holdings of the photographer’s work in the world, Weegee: Society of the Spectacle is a re-examination of the photographer’s visual commentary on the society of his time, connecting his early career documenting New York City streets to his later work in Hollywood’s
glamorised world of celebrity and working with experimental image distortions. Long regarded as two distinct periods in his career, the works in Weegee: Society of the Spectacle challenge this division by underscoring how Weegee’s exploration of spectacle persisted across different contexts – from crime scenes and fires to red carpet premieres. Weegee’s masterful depiction of the ‘society of spectators’ captures both the unfiltered, everyday urban experience and the glossy allure of fame.

“While he may never have imagined the centrality of images to contemporary life, Weegee’s provocative and prescient perspective on urban life forces us to reflect on how we now exist simultaneously as both consumers and the consumed,” Elisabeth Sherman, Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Collections at ICP, said. “In an age where technology and constant image sharing shape our reality, Weegee’s work challenges us to reconsider the camera’s role not only as a witness but as an active participant in the creation of spectacle.”

Clément Chéroux, Director at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, stated,
“Weegee’s works highlight his ability to capture life’s extremes, from high society to the underworld. Often working at night, Weegee’s images of crime, fire and urban unrest reveal the harsh realities of 1930s and 1940s New York. His later shift to Hollywood did not distance him from this focus on spectacle but rather amplified his satirical approach, as he created playful distortions of celebrities that critiqued the American obsession with fame.”

The exhibition will highlight three recurring themes in Weegee’s work. The
Spectacle of the News focuses on his nighttime photos of crime scenes, car
accidents and fires, where the onlookers are as important as the events
themselves. The Society of Spectators shows Weegee’s lens turned towards the
people on the fringes of the main action – from high-society parties to street
scenes – emphasising that spectatorship is part of the spectacle. Hollywood
Distortions highlights Weegee’s later years, which saw him experiment with
techniques that satirised Hollywood stars and the world of celebrity through
exaggerated photo-caricatures, offering a pointed critique of the culture of fame.

The publication accompanying the exhibition, Weegee: Society of the Spectacle,
further explores these themes, presenting essays by leading photography scholars including Clément Chéroux, Isabelle Bonnet, David Campany and Cynthia Young alongside rare archival material that deepens the viewer’s understanding of Weegee’s complex legacy. The book, published by Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson and Thames & Hudson, will be available for purchase at ICP’s bookstore and through select retailers.

Press release from ICP

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[St. Louis Gag Shot]
c. 1950
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma
Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
Photographers at Premiere
c. 1951
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
Weegee
c. 1958
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
[Mona Lisa distortion]
c. 1958
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee (Arthur Fellig) (American born Ukraine, 1899-1968)
President John F. Kennedy (distortion)
December 2, 1962
International Center of Photography
Bequest of Wilma Wilcox, 1993
© International Center of Photography/Getty Images

Weegee: Society of the Spectacle book cover

International Center of Photography
84 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002
between Delancey Street and Broome Street

Opening hours:
Monday 10.30am – 6.30pm
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday 10.30am – 6.30pm
Thursday 10.30am – 8pm
Friday 10.30am – 6.30pm
Saturday 10.30am – 6.30pm
Sunday 10.30am – 6.30pm

International Center of Photography website

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