Featured in the current issue of AnOther Magazine, acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Cheryl Dunn documents the legends of American street photography...
It is a rare thing that the development of an art form is without argument attributed to the genius, drive and inspiration of a single figure, but it is an established fact in the case of photography in America. Alfred Steiglitz’s long life bore witness to seismic changes in the world, and his work and passion within the field ensured that developments in photography were similarly revolutionary. His endeavors saw the medium freed from the frozen and stylised portraits of the late 19th century and the ground laid for the vibrant, anarchic, freewheeling snapshots that characterise American street photography today. A truly breathtaking legacy, and one worthy of commemoration.
So, with that aim, Manhattan’s Seaport Museum commissioned photographer and filmmaker Cheryl Dunn to create a film that bore testament to the far-reaching impact of Steiglitz, as well as highlighting the flourishing state of street photography in 21st century New York. Talking to legends of the scene, Dunn traveled around the city, observing the likes of Bruce Davidson, Mary Ellen Mark, Rebecca Lepkoff and Jeff Mermelstein at work. Like street photography itself, the film goes deep into the fabric of everyday life, watching as these experts capture vignettes of extraordinary power amid the most average of Manhattan days. As Dunn says, "anything can happen on the streets of New York, and if you observe, if you walk around, if you listen, it's like theatre. It's just the most magical thing before your eyes."
In a spread for the current issue of AnOther Magazine, Dunn described the meetings she had with the different photographer and the various anecdotes that emerged – from punk-rock Lepkoff dodging police protection when shooting in the Bronx, Mary Ellen Mark's experiences living in asylums and heading to the Phillipines to shoot on the set of Apocalypse Now, to Ricky Powell’s words of wisdom for nascent photographers: “Don’t get fuckin’ snotty, don’t get arrogant. Stay humble and be careful of perpetrators. That’s the formula." Here, in an exclusive extract from the AnOther Magazine piece, Dunn describes her adventure with the volatile Bruce Gilden…
Cheryl Dunn: "Bruce Gilden’s dad was a Brooklyn gangster and he didn’t fall far from the tree. Bruce’s style is totally confrontational: he leaps out at the characters he wants to capture. This is no sneak attack. This is a full-on, bright lights, two inches from your face onslaught, mostly met with wide-eyed confustion and sometimes aggression. Bruce said, “I get so close they don’t even know I’m taking their picture.”
He told us he never goes to 47th Street because every time he does, he gets in a fight. So, of course, we begged him to go. 47th Street between 5th and 6th Avenue is the diamond district. Pretty much everyone milling around there is carrying diamonds, cash, guns, or most likely all three. We arrived and within 20 seconds, Bruce snapped one picture of an attractive, dark-haired woman, seemingly looking at her own reflection in a window filled with bling. She turned around and slugged him. He blocked the hit and she started to yell. Three giant dudes appeared and got in Bruce’s face waving bottles as weapons. We got out of that scuffle and Bruce’s adrenaline was racing. He excitedly explained, with spit flying everywhere, what he would have done if this were a few years back when he was crazy, all the while holding an invisible knife to my throat. Lesson learned: don’t go to 47th Street with Bruce Gilden."
The film can be seen on the creative funding platform Kickstarter, along with more information about the quest to create a full-length film version of Everybody Street.
Text by Tish Wrigley
