WEST HOLLYWOOD.- Harold Feinstein - Coney Island, is the first exhibition since his recent passing. Harold Feinstein (April 17, 1931-June 20, 2015) was born in Coney Island in 1931 and began photographing in 1946 when he was 15. By the time he was 19, Edward Steichen had purchased his work for the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art making him the youngest person to be so honored. He was also the youngest member of the famed Photo League, a designer for Blue Note records and one of the original inhabitants of New York's legendary "Jazz Loft". He began teaching before he was 30 and his legendary workshops have inspired hundreds of aspiring photographers. When he died recently (June 2015) the New York Times declared him "one of the most accomplished recorders of the American experience."
He is best known for his Coney Island work, which spans six decades and intimately portrays the iconic American playground as a place of on-going exuberance and vitality regardless of the changes it has undergone over the years. Commenting on his one-man show, A Coney Island of the Heart, at the International Center for Photography, former New York Times critic, A.D. Coleman, remarked: "Here is New York small camera school at it's best; humanistic, engaging, almost intrusive... this is the work of a man who loves people, takes unalloyed pleasure in seeing them enjoy themselves, likes to get close to them - and, by rendering their physicality in tactile, nuanced prints, enmeshes the viewer in the sensual, material world his 'subjects' occupy."
His most recent book, Harold Feinstein: A Retrospective (Nazraeli, 2012) received a Photo District News Annual Best Photography Book Award in 2013. While his Coney Island work has been much celebrated, Feinstein's breadth and exposure is far greater. His photographs from the Korean War, taken from the perspective of a draftee, offer an intimate look at the daily life of young conscripts from basic training to the front lines. In addition, he has a large collection of classic street photography, nudes, portraits and still life.
Feinstein's first Leica IIIc was a gift from his long-time friend, W. Eugene Smith in 1950. Many of Feinstein's most iconic Coney Island photographs were taken with that camera, which he also took with him to the Korean War. He called it his "work horse; simple, reliable and indestructible."
His work is owned by museums and corporations worldwide including The Museum of Modern Art, The International Center for Photography, The George Eastman House, The Center for Creative Photography and The Museum of the City of New York.
Currently two documentaries of his life and work are underway and should be released in 2016.
The more our world is viewed through today's ubiquitous digital lens and small screens the more narrowed the perspective. The true magnitude of the cities in which we live, work and play can only be seen through a much broader and larger expression. This is the mission of photographer Al Satterwhite in his latest focus, aRound New York. Its spherical theme of imagery is presented in a series of large prints, custom designed round-shaped books, postcards and calendars. Audiences will experience seeing their world in a new way and with a new appreciation.
Satterwhite's earlier work can be found at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts -Houston, National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Ft. Wayne Museum of Art and many other museums and fine art galleries. "Using Leica's digital camera (M240) with my special 180º lens afforded me the ability to get into unique locations with a minimum of equipment and work fast on this special project; a real minimalistic way to work. As we used to say "f8 and be there" - as long as your equipment can deliver, and the Leica system certainly does that."
The exhibition is on the
Leica Gallery in Los Angeles from September 3 through September 31.