Writing about Elliott Erwitt is an antediluvian adventure. It sends us back to when photography was practiced with humility and compassion, and was a bit less narcissistic. The bygone days at Magnum with its passionate members. Among them, this son of a Russian immigrant, a bit crazy, a bit childish, a fervent observer, quickly understood that his art should remain a hobby.
Born in Paris in 1928, Elliott Erwitt left for New York when he was 10, after having spent his childhood in Italy. “Elio” began taking pictures at 15, officially to “earn a living”. His first real camera, his “photographer’s notepad”, was a Rolleiflex. What characterized both the man and the photographer was his sense of humor. With a mischievous eye. His photos were ironic, unlike anyone else. He played with the world, minimizing the shocking, chasing the comical, photographing the street like an American cartoon.
Humor
Erwitt was forever observing others, their possessions and behaviors. Spying was his favorite pastime. He went everywhere with his camera, except “to the bathroom. I am concentrating on other things” he jokes. There, he reminds visitors to “Please aim directly”.
Provocative, but never mean, Elliott Erwitt is a sort of intellect of humor. His vision oscillates from joy, to astonishment, to sadness. For Ferdinando Scianna, another former Magnum photographer, Erwitt’s pictures are essential “survival kits. When you are in despair, they can save your life”.
Men and Women
Like Peter Pan, Elliott Erwitt had an imaginary land. He was a dreamer, yet always kept one foot on the ground. For Scianna, “Elliott was a political photographer, but he relied on derision to keep from appearing too serious”. That would explain the picture of the sinks during segregation. The scene’s composition, seemingly comical, highlights the stupidity of racism. It makes people laugh about the idiocy, and evolves into an icon of this stupidity.
The good picture has no secret. For Erwitt, everything appears easy. “Photography requires using your eye, your heart, and your mind”. Although he is not very talkative, he photographed a host of celebrities: Marilyn Monroe, Che Guevara, Clark Gable, or John F. Kennedy. He was poetic and glamorous. And always knew how to obtain a sensual glance from the women who posed for him.
This eighty year old earned his living with commercial photography. His picture for the French Tourist Board of a man and his son on a bicycle would travel the globe. He has a residence on Central Park, and a secondary home in the Hamptons.
Dogs
Like good wine, Erwitt often let his pictures mature before publishing them in books. Among these pictures, his dogs take a major place. He immortalized them with human attitudes. A way of reducing man to their level. It wasn’t until after he noticed how frequently he captured dogs in his street scenes that he admitted his passion. Today, he has a Scottish terrier. There were others, bigger.
Until the end, one of the last dinosaurs of modern photography would remain a child, a bit temperamental, but incredibly talented. His next book, Sequentially Yours, will be released in September. Before that, Personal Best, his exhibition at the International Center of Photography that will coincide with the Lifetime Achievement Award he just received. Have pity, don’t tell him that his career is finished. “No, it’s the prize that says my life is over”.
Jonas Cuénin
Personal Best
A selection of 100 of Elliott Erwitt’s favorite pictures taken over the past 60 years
Through August 28
International Center of Photography de New York
1133 Ave of the Americas
New York
+1 212-857-0000
