Joel Meyerowitz – The Pulse of the Street

France
2016
en
52'

Direction: Philippe Jamet

"Historian, record-keeper, artist": is how Joel Meyerowitz describes himself when talking about his determination to document the 9/11 attacks. The still-smoking ruins revived the fire that drove him in 1962, the start of his photographic stroll (then in black and white) through the streets of NYC. Over 52 minutes interspersed with archive footage, Meyerowitz analyses the change in his views at the end of the sixties, justifies his aesthetic and political biases, makes photography's upheavals echo those of the world, and lucidly deciphers the changes of era.

Joel Meyerowitz – The Pulse of the Street

Synopsis

"Historian, record-keeper, artist": is how Joel Meyerowitz describes himself when talking about his determination to document the 9/11 attacks. The still-smoking ruins revived the fire that drove him in 1962, the start of his photographic stroll (then in black and white) through the streets of NYC. Over 52 minutes interspersed with archive footage, Meyerowitz analyses the change in his views at the end of the sixties, justifies his aesthetic and political biases, makes photography's upheavals echo those of the world, and lucidly deciphers the changes of era.

What you will find in this film

Joel Meyerowitz's New York • How he became a photographer • The importance de l’attention au monde • His iconic photos • His wanderings in the Big Apple • Perspective and verticality • The street as a cultural space • An interconnected chaos • His interest in history • His desire to document an era • His work in black and white • The end of innocence • His relationship with colour • His work on 9/11 at Ground Zero • His anxiety about light • Paris seen by Joel Meyerowitz • His take on the changes of era • Fashion as a revealer of trends • The importance of changing framing • Good practice for black and white and colour • Cape Cod • The digital age and the transformations it brings • The "secret of photography" • Photography as a way of being out in the world • Social movements in the USA • The sudden emergence of minorities • The Vietnam War • Urban issues • The necessary art of contemplation • The vibration of the landscape • Sharing painting • Jazz as the tempo of the city

Keywords

Black & White Large format photography Street photography Photographic instinct Colour Still life

The secret of photography is just to be out in the world in large, with your eyes wide open, your mind fresh and wait to see what writes on you.

Joel Meyerowitz

Film chapters

summary 02:00 Childhood in the Bronx

summary 09:00 Paris (1966-1967)

summary 12:25 Vietnam War and protest movements

summary 22:15 The importance of colour

summary 36:14 9/11

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The authors/artists

Joël Meyerowitz

Further exploration

• WILD FLOWERS - auteur : Joel Meyerowitz ; Damiani ; 2021

• WHERE I FIND MYSELF - auteur : Joel Meyerowitz ; Laurence King ; 2018

• CÉZANNE’S OBJECTS - auteur : Joel Meyerowitz ; Damiani ; 2017

• BYSTANDER : A HISTORY OF STREET PHOTOGRAPHY- auteurs : Colin Westerbeck & Joel Meyerowitz ; Laurence King ; 2017

• CAPE LIGHT - auteur : Joel Meyerowitz ; Aperture ; 2015

• JOEL MEYEROWITZ : TAKING MY TIME - auteur : Joel Meyerowitz ; Phaidon ; 2012