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 by investigating his career-long focus on critiquing 20th-century popular culture and its insatiable appetite for spectacle. 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.
The show highlights 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 the photographer’s lens turned towards the people on the fringes of the main action — from high-society parties to street scenes — emphasizing that spectatorship is part of the spectacle. “Hollywood Distortions” highlights Weegee’s later years, which saw him experiment with techniques that satirized Hollywood stars and the world of celebrity through exaggerated photo-caricatures, offering a pointed critique of the culture of fame.
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 runs at the FHCB and the Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid. It is accompanied by the publication Weegee: Society of the Spectacle (Thames & Hudson).
Society of the Spectacle is on view at ICP alongside American Job: 1940–2011 and To Conjure: New Archives in Recent Photography.
To learn more and find upcoming programming, visit icp.org.