Posts in Category : From the PWP Archives
Dark Legacy, Points of Light: Photographers and Newtown Creek
Once it was an American Eden. Fish swam in its waters, animals and Indians lived along its shores. It was longer then, wider too. Most of all it, was clean. But where water flows, industry follows, and by the late 1800s, Newtown Creek, the 3.8 mile channel* dividing western Brooklyn from western Queens, was lined with chemical plants, glue and fertilizer factories, fat renderers, and refineries to process oil. In an unregulated age, companies were free to dispose of their byproducts, including lead, cadmium, and sulfuric acid, in the waters of the Creek, which was also an outlet for raw sewage. After World War II, manufacturing began to migrate south and overseas, leaving behind a complex and brutal legacy of contamination and [continue reading...]
Ruth Gruber: Words, Pictures and History
From humble beginnings in Brooklyn, Ruth Gruber rose by her own talent and determination to become a writer, photographer, and humanitarian of the world. At twenty, she was the youngest Ph.D.; at age one hundred, with the exhibition Photographs as Witness, 1944-47 at Soho Photo Gallery, she is still going strong. Gruber was born in 1911, the fourth of five children, to David and Gussie Gruber, Russian Jewish immigrants who settled in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She flourished academically, and by fifteen was attending NYU where she fell in love with German culture. Eager to escape the “shetl called Williamsburg,” Gruber accepted a fellowship in 1930 from the Institute of International Education for postgraduate study at the University of Cologne. There she wrote [continue reading...]
30 By 30: Anonymous / Her Mother
30 Women Photographers and the Women Photographers Who Inspired Them A Blog Series in Honor of Women’s History Month, March 1 – 31 This participating photographer asked to remain anonymous and PWP honored her request. Which woman photographer inspired you the most? A: More than anyone else, my mother. I almost hate to admit it. We were incredibly different and fought a lot. Our fights were major events in the household. Frazier and Ali, Ali and Liston, Holyfield, Tyson-they had nothing on mom and me. We could duke it out like nobody’s business. She was made of steel. If you wanted praise, you had to earn it. If you wanted love, you had to win it, and it was of [continue reading...]
30 By 30: Beth Schiffer / Carrie Mae Weems
30 Women Photographers and the Women Photographers Who Inspired Them A Blog Series in Honor of Women’s History Month, March 1 – 31 Beth Schiffer graduated from The School of Visual Arts with a BFA, and took a job as a “spotter” in a commercial color lab, even though her primary interest was black and white photography. Impressed by her work ethic, the manager trained her as a color printer, and she discovered a love of and talent for making other photographers’ work look its best. In 1992, she opened her highly regarded Pro>Photo Labs in Tribeca, and has since worked with major players in many industries and “some of the most amazing artists in the world.€ Which woman [continue reading...]
30 By 30: Vicki Goldberg / Margaret Bourke-White
30 Women Photographers and the Women Photographers Who Inspired Them A Blog Series in Honor of Women’s History Month, March 1 – 31 Vicki Goldberg is a writer and lecturer on photography and art. Her many books include The Power of Photography: How Photographs Changed Our Lives, Light Matters: Writings on Photography, and Margaret Bourke-White: A Biography. Her articles have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Smithsonian, American Photo, Art in America, ARTnews, and Aperture. As a thinker and writer on photography, she has no peer. Her many awards include the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, the Dudley Johnston Award from The Royal Photographic Society, and the Infinity Award for Writing from the [continue reading...]