Saturday, January 22, 2011

First Landing - George Grosz Photographs

We all know George Grosz as a great cartoonist.  One of the greatest in history, actually.  He was also a top notch paint, of course, applying many of his skills as a caricaturist to his portraiture.  As a painter, he's on the top echelon of era, a particular fecund period in European art.

He also had a camera.  During his flight from Fascism in 1932 he used it to chronicle his voyage over the Atlantic and arrival in New York.







This is a small catalog from a 1977 exhibition of his photography.


The catalog isn't archival so the paper has turned. The scanner also picks up the grain.

A large component of photography is access -just being there, at the right place in the right situation.

This images certainly benefit from the charged situation of Grosz' passage.


Some, like "Fellow Traveller", exhibit the same touch for capturing the life of a person and showcasing them in a unique light which makes Grosz' work with pen and paint remarkable.

 Above: "Remembering"

The remaining five images from this portfolio will be posted tomorrow.