Comments on: Jill Freedman

Jill Freedman

Armitage Shanks — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:16:37 -0800

Influenced by the Modernist documentarian André Kertész, with references to the hard-edged, black-and-white works of Weegee and Diane Arbus, this self-taught photographer captured raw and intimate images, and transformed urban scenes into theatrical dramas. More photos at jillfreedman.com.

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:36:44 -0800

Well, now I'm a fan.

By: Kadin2048

Kadin2048 — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:37:56 -0800

Very interesting. I'd never heard of her, but I'm blown away. This surprised me:

Despite praise from critics, Ms. Freedman's career as a photojournalist never fulfilled its early promise. "Her work influenced a lot of people," said Andy Grundberg, chairman of photography at the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington. But he added that "her style really fell out of fashion" as people grew less interested in her brand of documentary photography, in which an emotional connection with the subject is valued as much as the photograph.

Although I'm aware that tastes change, I'm surprised that really good documentary photography — and hers seems pretty good — would ever fall out of style; it seems like there's always a market for and an interest in it. I wonder what happened.

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:14 -0800

I'd never heard of her, but I'm blown away. Me neither, but I recognized Love Kills and Lunch At Tiffany's. There's a review of her work in the Times from 1982, (" As it is, one leaves the exhibition unsure of whose side she is on.", WTF?) but she disappeared for a long time. She posted a comment in this blog entry from 2004 where people were wondering what happened to her. And I would love to see a higher res version of this picture...

By: Sys Rq

Sys Rq — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:18:36 -0800

" As it is, one leaves the exhibition unsure of whose side she is on.", WTF? From the article: "When I saw that they had turned 42nd Street into Disneyland," she said, "I just stood there and wept." On one hand, yes, Disneyfication sucks for all kinds of reasons, and is worth crying over; on the other hand, abject poverty is a whole lot worse, and shouldn't be expected to stick around simply for the benefit of documentary photographers looking to capture "beauty in squalor." I love Freedman's work, though.

By: chunking express

chunking express — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:31:18 -0800

She has some awesome photos. I hadn't heard of her till today either.

By: Outlawyr

Outlawyr — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:00:48 -0800

Great work. Thanks for posting this.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:30:09 -0800

This is wonderful. I keep trying to say something smart about it, but what's really great is the way the best of her images capture something inexpressible in words. I look at the elephant climbing into the truck (or the two girls jumping rope, or the guy playing the trombone as the sun rises, or....) and it's dead obvious that it means something clear and specific. It's only when I start trying to say what it means that I realize the words don't exist.

By: carter

carter — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:33:50 -0800

Wonderful photographs. Thanks.

By: Faze

Faze — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:01:52 -0800

Man, she beats Lee Friedlander and Larry Fink at their own game. Remarkable work. Goes way beyond "photojournalism."

By: lostburner

lostburner — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:23:39 -0800

That elephant photo is remarkable. Looks like the elephant doesn't actually fit inside that truck.