STEVE SCHAPIRO PHOTOGRAPHY
http://steveschapiro.com
Biography
http://steveschapiro.com/biography.html
Steve Schapiro discovered photography at the age of nine at summer camp. Excited by the camera’s potential, Schapiro spent the next decades prowling the streets of his native New York City trying to emulate the work of French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson, whom he greatly admired. His first formal education in photography came when he studied under the photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. Smith’s influence on Schapiro was far-reaching. He taught him the technical skills he need to succeed as a photographer, but also informed his personal outlook and world-view. Schapiro’s lifelong interest in social documentary, and his consistently empathetic portrayal of his subjects, is an outgrowth of his days spent with Smith and the development of a concerned humanistic approach to photography.
Beginning in 1961, Schapiro worked as a freelance photojournalist. His photographs have appeared internationally in the pages and on the covers of magazines, including Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, People and Paris Match. During the decade of the 1960s in America, called the “golden age in photojournalism,” Schapiro produced photo-essays on subjects as varied as narcotics addition, Easter in Harlem, the Apollo Theater, Haight-Ashbury, political protest, the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy, poodles and presidents. A particularly poignant story about the lives of migrant workers in Arkansas, produced in 1961 for Jubilee and picked up by the New York Times Magazine, both informed readers about the migrant workers’ difficult living conditions and brought about tangible change—the installation of electricity in their camps.
An activist as well as documentarian, Schapiro covered many stories related the Civil Rights movement, including the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the push for voter registration and the Selma to Montgomery march. Called by Life to Memphis after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, Schapiro produced some of the most iconic images of that tragic event.
In the 1970s, as picture magazines like Life folded, Schapiro shifted attention to film. With major motion picture companies as his clients, Schapiro produced advertising materials, publicity stills and posters for films as varied as the Godfather, the Way We Were, Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy, Rambo, Risky Business and Billy Madison. He also collaborated on projects with musicians, such as Barbra Streisand and David Bowie, for record covers and related art.
Schapiro’s photographs have been widely reproduced in magazines and books related to American cultural history from the 1960s forward, civil rights, and motion picture film. Monographs of Schapiro’s work include American Edge (2000); a book about the spirit of the turbulent decade of the 1960s in America, and Schapiro’s Heroes (2007), which offers long intimate profiles of ten iconic figures: Muhammad Ali, Andy Warhol, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Ray Charles, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, Barbra Streisand and Truman Capote. Schapiro’s Heroes was the winner of an Art Directors Club Cube Award. Taschen released The Godfather Family Album: Photographs by Steve Schapiro in 2008, followed by Taxi Driver (2010), both initially in signed limited editions. This was followed by Then And Now (2012), Bliss, about the changing Hippie Generation (2015), BOWIE (2016), Mercicordia (20126) an amazing facility for people with developmental problems, and in 2017 books about Muhammad Ali and Taschen’s The Fire Next Time with James Baldwin’s text and Schapiro’s Civil Rights photos from 1963 to 1968.
Since the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s seminal 1969 exhibition, Harlem on my Mind, which included a number of his images, Schapiro’s photographs have appeared in museum and gallery exhibitions world-wide. The High Museum of Art’s Road to Freedom, which traveled widely in the United States, includes numerous of his photographs from the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr. Recent one-man shows have been mounted in Los Angeles, London, Santa Fe, Amsterdam, Paris. And Berlin. Steve has had large museum retrospective exhibitions in the United States, Spain, Russia, and Germany.
Schapiro continues to work in a documentary vein. His recent series’ of photographs have been about India, Music Festivals, and Black Lives Matter.
Schapiro’s work is represented in many private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Museum, the High Museum of Art, the New York Metropolitan Museum and the Getty Museum. He has just Received the James Joyce Award and fellowship to University College in Dublin/ Previous recipients included Bishop Tutu, Jesse Jackson and J.K. Rowling
Exhibitions
http://steveschapiro.com/exhibitions.html
Books
http://steveschapiro.com/books.html
Schapiro’s Heroes Photographs by Steve Schapiro
http://www.powerhousebooks.com/books/schapiros-heroes/
Muhammad Ali, Robert Kennedy, Andy Warhol, Martin Luther King Jr., Samuel Beckett, Ray Charles, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Barbra Streisand, James Baldwin, and Truman Capote.
Schapiro’s Heroes brings together an extraordinary collection of stories in the photo-journalistic tradition of people who have shaped our lives, our politics, and our tastes by the celebrated documentarian Steve Schapiro. In behind-the-scenes photographs, we visit the young Muhammad Ali and his Monopoly set, followed everywhere by the neighborhood kids; glimpse the warm family life and campaign of Robert Kennedy, who was so suddenly struck down; see Andy Warhol in photographs never before published; watch Ray Charles perform; visit the set with Samuel Beckett; and march alongside Martin Luther King Jr.
One of the most respected American documentary photographers, Steve Schapiro has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. His heroes are the iconic men and women who have influenced the political and cultural climate of our times. Schapiro’s Heroes is a rare and intimate glimpse of a major period of American history, photographed during the golden age of photojournalism by one of the major talents of the late twentieth century.
Steve Schapiro has photographed cover stories for most of the world’s most prominent magazines, including Life, Look, Time, Newsweek, SI, Rolling Stone, People, and Paris Match. He photographed on set for The Godfather, Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, and Chinatown. His work is in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Institute. His previous book, entitled American Edge (Arena, 2000), was recognized for excellence by The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and other publications. Schapiro is represented by Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.
David Friend, Vanity Fair’s editor of creative development and formerly Life’s director of photography, is the author of Watching the World Change: The Stories Behind the Images of 9/11 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006).
Misericordia: Together We Celebrate
http://www.powerhousebooks.com/books/misericordia-together-we-celebrate/
On any given day at Misericordia Heart of Mercy Center, more than 600 children and adults with developmental disabilities are busy at work—traversing the 31-acre campus and city of Chicago to get to paying jobs, taking continuing education classes, exercising at the on-campus health and fitness center, creating works of art in the HeART Studio Workshops, singing and dancing in performance groups, and so much more.
Its mission—to support individuals with developmental disabilities in maximizing their level of independence and self-determination within an environment that fosters spirituality, dignity, respect and enhancement of quality of life—is a call to action for 1,000 dedicated staff members and tens of thousands of volunteers every year.
Its name—which means Heart of Mercy—has become synonymous with excellent care, and it is a model for others worldwide in providing residential options and programs so those with developmental disabilities can live lives that are fulfilled, meaningful, and as independent as possible.
Misericordia is unique from other providers in the field because it provides a full continuum of care and a network of services for individuals from diverse racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, with disabilities ranging from mild to profound. With hundreds of families on its waiting list, Misericordia continues to grow and expand to meet the evolving needs—and to anticipate the future needs of its residents and the larger community.
Founded in 1921 as a maternity hospital, Misericordia has changed over the years to meet unmet needs and has learned to do three things very well—it provides exceptional programs for its residents, gives peace of mind to residents’ families, and shares its mission with supporters across the country.
Steve Schapiro is a distinguished journalistic photographer whose pictures have graced the covers of Vanity Fair, Time, Sports Illustrated, Life, Look, Paris Match, and People, and are found in many museum collections. He has published seven books of his work, American Edge, Schapiro’s Heroes, The Godfather Family Album, Taxi Driver, Then and Now, Bliss, and Bowie.
Galleries & Licensing
http://steveschapiro.com/galleries.html
Photos
http://steveschapiro.com/photos.html
Email: sschapiro@aol.com
http://steveschapiro.com/contact.html
Steve Schapiro shares photographs of America’s heroes
https://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/31457/1/steve-schapiro-shares-photographs-of-america-s-heroes
From Bowie and Muhammad Ali to Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert De Niro – these are portraits from some of the most important political and cultural moments of the past five decades
“I remember very vividly being really impressed how Henri Cartier-Bresson captured a moment,” photographer Steve Schapiro told us earlier this year. “There were three elements that made up a good photo; emotion, design and information.” Cartier-Bresson called it the “decisive moment”, and it’s clear that by looking at his work just how much of an impact this ideology had on Schapiro, with all three elements present in the photographer’s now-historic shots.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march in Selma, and similarly, King’s abandoned motel room following his assassination were both captured by the American photojournalist. In the same year, he was liaising with Andy Warhol and his clique – including the likes of Edie Sedgwick and the Velvet Underground – in NYC, as clear a sign as any of his sheer versatility as a photographer. And if that wasn’t enough, he also captured Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968 before America appeared to move out of its haze of uncertainty and into the “Summer of Love”.
Schapiro soon teleported into the world of film, adding a string of candid film shots to his weighty bow. “The Godfather” was his first gig when he was hired by Paramount and given free reign to shoot behind the scenes history as it unfolded. He went on to work with prominent actors and highly reputable motion picture companies before working as a fly on the walls of the “Taxi Driver” set. This was when he could work his magic and go beyond the instantly recognisable imagery of the film to capture the leading moments that give the iconic ramblings of “You talkin’ to me?” their context.
A private photo session with David Bowie wasn’t something that came along often so naturally, Schapiro jumped on the opportunity and strapped it down when it presented itself in 1974. The result? The album artwork for "Low" and "Station to Station" in addition to countless spontaneous images of Ziggy Stardust. When reflecting on the experience, he told us, “In documentary, you are trying to record a moment. You are not just trying to get close enough to get a portrait, you are trying to get a sense of the time period and the place” – and his new exhibition, Steve Schapiro: Heroes on at London’s ATLAS Gallery, proves his ability to have done just that.
Steve Schapiro: Heroes will run 9 June – 20 August 2016 at London's ATLAS Gallery, showing over 20 diverse images captured throughout Schapiro's lengthy career. Click here for more details on the exhibition. Schapiro's book “BOWIE” is published by PowerHouse Books, containing rare, previously unpublished images of David Bowie
Steve Schapiro - An Eye for American Icons
http://www.poorhouseintl.co.uk/detail.php?id=236
He made a name for himself with photo essays including the working conditions of migrant labour in Arkansas, the Appollo Theatre and drug addicts in East Harlem. He also shot iconic pictures for stories relating to the Civil Rights Movement, the assassination of Martin Luther King and the presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy. When picture magazines folded in the 70s Schapiro shifted his attention to film which is why Dustin Hoffmann interviews him and Jodie Foster and Michael Mann also chip in.
The best photographers working in black and white
https://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/28577/1/the-best-photographers-working-in-black-and-white
Working with issues like abandonment, mental illness, erotica and poverty, these visionaries shut down black and white photography’s naysayers
In a world that is predominantly ruled by colour images – nowadays everyone is a photographer, and their solo exhibitions can be viewed on Instagram – it’s rare to come across artists who primarily work in black and white. Photography was born black and white, and some photographers choose to continue this tradition, while working on evolving the visual aesthetics of this raw art form.
Modern-day photographers like Daido Moriyama, Igor Posner, Miron Zownir and Eamonn Doyle use abstraction and graphical means to get their messages across. These visionaries document issues like abandonment, mental illness, erotica and poverty. Their work obliterates the false preconception that black and white photography is outdated and less expressive.
Historically, quintessential names like Diane Arbus, who documented the lives of the misfits of New York in the mid-1900s, and Robert Frank, whose book The Americans portraying post-war America has become one of the most iconic black and white street photography collections ever, continue to be some of the most celebrated photographers. Their use of extensive methods to convey their artistic visions and emotions with the help of contrast, texture and graphic composition successfully highlighted the challenges their subjects faced – a tradition continued by current photographers.
In honour of this timeless art form and in celebration of contemporary black and white photography we have picked out our ten favourite photographers from MONO: Volume Two – published by Gomma Books – a tome that has amalgamated the work of old-favourites along with new talent.
DAIDO MORIYAMA
Veteran Japanese avant-garde photographer Daido Moriyama became known for capturing the post-war breakdown of traditional Japanese values. His grainy, blurred and distorted photographs now capture everyday life and objects in a way that is both beautiful and grotesque. Documenting his surroundings, his artistic vision spans from cropped urban landscapes to picturing the ‘stranger’ in the city. Discarded cigarette butts, tyres and shoes are portrayed in a uniquely realistic way. Moriyama’s world is one of fragmentation and dream-like existence, where the urban and rural sometimes blur into one.
DIRK BRAECKMAN
The Belgian photographer creates an enclosed and isolated world that is made up of blacks, whites and greys. Braeckman’s abstract vision captures haunted, isolated and imposing industrial buildings – so dark that the picture can’t be clearly deciphered – that are reduced to a dark outline. These echoing warehouses seem shrouded in illusion and the sense that time’s standing still is inescapable. Capturing seemingly unimportant objects and places, Braeckman’s work moves between abstraction and representation – making it hard to tell if the images are paintings or photographs.
SCOTT TYPALDOS
In his on-going project Butterflies, Typaldos highlights the issues of the socially created traumas and stigmatisations of mental illness. His subjects are the vulnerable men and women in run-down psychiatric institutions in Ghana and Kosovo. The confrontational series shows the fragile subjects in clear close-ups, bringing their plight to the forefront and making it impossible to look away.
IGOR POSNER
Russian-born Posner’s series No Such Records and On Second Thoughts are an exploration into the personal and psychological. No Such Records captures the solitude of roaming the LA and Tijuana streets by night – bars, night shelter hotels and shadowy figures fade away in the grainy, distorted photographs. On Second Thoughts centres on capturing St Petersburg’s psyche through afterthought and memory – and explores how these become twisted with time.
HIDEKA TONOMURA
Up-and-coming Japanese photographer, Tonomura works in both monochrome and colour. Her sequel series They Called Me Yukari captures her subjects in a darkly erotic, mysterious way. The images show blurry figures groping in the shadows, entangled and bursting with sexual energy. Her debut collection Mama Love portrayed her mother in bed with a lover, the images showing an obscure lover and focusing distinctly on Tonomura’s mother – this is her way of exploring her immediate family and their relationships
CAIMI AND PICCINNI
Jean-Marc Caimi and Valentina Piccinni are a French and Italian photographer duo who focus on documentary and also personal, intimate photography. Their monochrome projects are Forcella – an extensive work covering the mafia-ridden part of town in Naples and Same Tense – a stream of consciousness project, exploring time and living in the moment, free of memories. Their high impact black and white images of the apparently meaningless everyday, fuse nature and human subjects in one.
ALEXIA MONDUIT
Displayed alongside Jeffrey Silverthorne at Galerie VU’, Monduit’s Into My Song project is dramatic, powerful and striking. Her work “captures the invisible forces of childhood that resurfaces without warning.” Strange, intimate and intense, her photography is influenced by her theatrical background, capturing youth in abstract, erotic and blurry imagery. Relying on her instincts, Monduit’s work is produced with little forethought or planning.
MIRON ZOWNIR
Zownir’s subjects are the lost, the forgotten and the misfits. Spending nine years of his life capturing the hidden subcultures of New York and documenting sex workers, drug addicts and the everyday New Yorker in black and white, his fuel was the sexual and creative energy of the city. In 1995 when travelling to Moscow, he documented the homeless crisis in the city – a public tragedy he felt couldn’t be ignored. Zownir’s work captures the subjects in specific moments in time – through highly visual and often heartbreakingly dark images.
EAMONN DOYLE
Doyle’s take on Dublin is shown through his anonymous portraits of people on the city’s streets. The unposed subjects’ world-weary expressions and windswept appearances are portrayed in a grotesque way, the struggles of city-life revealed in these guerrilla-style images. The three dimensionality and curious nature of the photographs make the subjects look like they are in constant motion. With Dublin as the backdrop, a glaring light, making each shot theatrical and dramatic, illuminates the images.
MATT BLACK
Black’s projects portray issues like migration, farming, poverty and the environment in his native rural California and in southern Mexico. The bleak reality of humanity’s battle with nature – the sun’s heat and the suffocating dust can almost be felt through the photographs. Black captures the changes effecting the overpopulated Earth, like violence, draught, mountain erosion and deforestation.
Jonatan Morales
https://jshutterbug92.smugmug.com
Andy Schmid
https://www.andy-schmid.com
Andy Schmid
https://www.andy-schmid.com/portfolio/