Flash the making of Weegee the Famous

"The first comprehensive biography of Weegee--photographer, 'psychic, ' ultimate New Yorker. Arthur Fellig's ability to arrive at a crime scene just as the cops did was so uncanny that he renamed himself 'Weegee, ' claiming that he functioned as a human Ouija board. Weegee documented better than any...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bonanos, Christopher (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2019.
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:"The first comprehensive biography of Weegee--photographer, 'psychic, ' ultimate New Yorker. Arthur Fellig's ability to arrive at a crime scene just as the cops did was so uncanny that he renamed himself 'Weegee, ' claiming that he functioned as a human Ouija board. Weegee documented better than any other photographer the crime, grit, and complex humanity of midcentury New York City. In Flash, we get a portrait not only of the man (both flawed and deeply talented, with generous appetites for publicity, women, and hot pastrami) but also of the fascinating time and place that he occupied. From self-taught immigrant kid to newshound to art-world darling to latter-day caricature--moving from the dangerous streets of New York City to the celebrity culture of Los Angeles and then to Europe for a quixotic late phase of experimental photography and filmmaking--Weegee lived a life just as worthy of documentation as the scenes he captured. With Flash, we have an unprecedented and ultimately moving view of the man now regarded as an innovator and a pioneer, an artist as well as a newsman, whose photographs are among most powerful images of urban existence ever made."--Jacket.
Physical Description:400 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Awards:National Book Critics Circle Award for Best Biography, 2018.
Library Journal Best Nonfiction Book of 2018.
New York Times Best Art Book of 2018
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:1250229871
9781250229878
Author Notes:Christopher Bonanos is city editor at New York magazine, where he covers arts and culture and urban affairs. He is the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid and Flash: The Making of Weegee the Famous, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. He lives in New York City with his wife and their son.