Buffalo, New York
Photograph
1962 (photographed)
1962 (photographed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Lee Friedlander was one of the new documentary photographers of the 1960s. Like a jazz musician, he anchored his improvisations to a repeated theme. His street photographs are often deliberately unreadable, refracted or reflected in mirrors or windows. This image is one of a series of self-portraits in which his camera becomes part of his silhouette. He has implicated the viewer in the picture by placing us in the position of the photographer, standing where the artist once stood. The image collapses the distance between interior and exterior, reflection and surface. In this way Friedlander broke the conventional rules of photography to revitalise the medium.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Buffalo, New York (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
Brief description | Photograph by Lee Friedlander, 'Buffalo, New York', 1962, gelatin silver print |
Physical description | Black and white photograph through a glass shop window. There is a reflection of the street scene outside in the window, and the contents of the widow is clearly visible; numerous photographs and postcards depicting portraits of people and lettered signs spelling out words such as 'PASSPORTS'. There is a glare of light in the top centre of the photograph from the lightbulb inside the shop. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Subjects depicted | |
Place depicted | |
Summary | Lee Friedlander was one of the new documentary photographers of the 1960s. Like a jazz musician, he anchored his improvisations to a repeated theme. His street photographs are often deliberately unreadable, refracted or reflected in mirrors or windows. This image is one of a series of self-portraits in which his camera becomes part of his silhouette. He has implicated the viewer in the picture by placing us in the position of the photographer, standing where the artist once stood. The image collapses the distance between interior and exterior, reflection and surface. In this way Friedlander broke the conventional rules of photography to revitalise the medium. |
Collection | |
Accession number | PH.773-1980 |
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Record created | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
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