Jewish Photographers Picture
the Modern World

The enormous impact of 20th Century Jewish photographers in changing how Americans came to see their world has only recently been recognized, but the liberating power of their cameras, both in the past and today, has eluded scholars.

The Liberating Lens initiative is a course at the University of Michigan’s Frankel Center for Jewish Studies, and a website inviting students and the general public to create their own media exploring the legacy of Jewish photographers and their transformative visions of modernity.

Featured student portfolios

Students interpret the work of
20th Century masters

“Liberating Lens” students immerse themselves in the work
of 20th Century American-Jewish photographers. Students
study the artists’ techniques, subject matters and creative
processes to develop guidelines for taking photos of their
own.

Saul Leiter, Snow, (L), compared with Alice Li, Shopper, (R)

University of Michigan student
Morgan Rondinelli looks at
Arthur Leipzig

“Attempting to capture what my own towns feel like for
those there allowed me to try to see in Ann Arbor what
Leipzig saw in New York… Through his somewhat modernist
and aesthetically pleasing style, Leipzig’s photobook reveals
a great spirit of the city of New York. I hoped to capture this
same spirit in Ann Arbor.”

©Nancy Levine, photograph of Arthur Leipzig

University of Michigan student
Russ Schindler looks at
Stephen Shore

“While Stephen Shore’s photos may seem mundane and
ordinary, they are eerily unnerving in their monotony.
His subjects are not unique or extraordinary, rather his
composition of them distorts them ever slightly enough to
create an unnerving perspective.”

Stephen Shore, Sandusky, Ohio

Northwestern University student
Alice Li on Saul Leiter

“Saul Leiter’s street photography has often been associated
with the abstract expressionist movement. What made his
work stand apart from that of his contemporaries was his
approach and subject matter. Leiter shot scenes of the city
and its denizens, often from unusual angles and vantage
points.”

Saul Leiter, Taxi (1957)

Featured student blog posts

Bringing Community Back
into Focus—A Photo Icons
Comparison by Claire Roos

“It is often in the times of great suffering and hardship
that the best ideas and creative movements are created.
The Great Depression and World War II was one of
those times, yielding the creation of a new photographic
style of street photography called the New York School
(also known as ‘Abstract Expressionism’).”

Rebecca Lepkoff (L) & Helen Levitt (R)

Ushering in Street
Photography—A Photo Icons
Comparison by Joseph Mayer

“Jewish American photographers Arthur Fellig
(pseudonym ‘Weegee’) and Helen Levitt transformed
New York street photography by ushering in new,
modern approaches. Both hailed for their intense
realism, Weegee and Levitt captured the little details
of life in New York during the period surrounding
World War II.”

Helen Levitt, Boys Playing on the Street (L) & Arthur Fellig, The Human Cop (R)

Documenting Harlem—by
Jake Levine

“During the Great Depression, Americans all over the
country learned what it was like to live under the
poverty line, an experience it had previously reserved
for select groups. Business men became peddlers,
stock brokers stood in bread lines...”

Joe Schwartz, Slums Must Go! May Day Parade (c.1936)

A Liberating League—
An Understanding of Sid
Grossman and Vivian Cherry
by Hannah Walcoe

“In a time when poverty and social problems were too
consuming to allow any public commitment to art and
aesthetics to flourish in a crowded city like New York,
The Photo League championed photography as a true
art form.”

The Estate of Sid Grossman

COLLABORATING WITH CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

The New Media in Jewish Studies Collaborative seeks to inspire collaboration between scholars and the community at large.

One of our partnering institutions is the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM). CJM exhibits Liberating Lens multimedia pages, inviting students to take inspiration from Alfred Stieglitz’s words and photographs and post their own in response.

Alfred Stieglitz

Featured PUBLIC photo submissions

Alfred Stieglitz
Equivalent (1925)

Stieglitz said that only after looking at his photographs for a while could he tell anything about their meaning. In other words, looking at his printed pictures, he noticed things he didn’t see during the act of taking the picture.

Look closely at a photo you’ve taken that has special significance for you; an unusual picture that captures emotion. Look at the picture for longer than usual. What do you notice about it? What do you feel?

Participate >

public-photo-2

Alicia Mies
Palo Alto High School

I notice how my hands are shown in the water and how it affects the overall balance of the composition. Also, now looking at it again, I see the circular balance in the photo and I notice how complex and interesting the simple fountain in my backyard can be. When looking at this photo, I feel a sense of serenity, but I am also taken aback by the dark purple color of the water. I also see the balance of the photo, which gives the photo meaning.

public-photo-3

Ashley Alexander
Berkeley High School

This photo was originally a mistake, but upon a second look I came to love its painting-like quality. For me it represents the feeling that oftentimes life takes the reins and you can’t control the outcome.

public-photo-4

Rebecca Stievater
Plymouth, VT

There’s something in the barn, behind the doors, that I didn’t notice before. A wheelbarrow, perhaps? This photo evokes feelings of warmth, happiness, and security…which is interesting because I spent the second half of this Christmas weekend rather upset. But a brief moment of reflection and wonder at the sight of the warm barn at dusk makes me remember the weekend fondly.

Jewish Photographers Picture the Modern World

Featured student portfolios

Students interpret the work of 20th Century masters

University of Michigan student Morgan Rondinelli looks at Arthur Leipzig

University of Michigan student Russ Schindler looks at Stephen Shore

Northwestern University student Alice Li on Saul Leiter

Featured student blog posts

Bringing Community Back into Focus—A Photo Icons Comparison by Claire Roos

Ushering in Street Photography—A Photo Icons Comparison by Joseph Mayer

Documenting Harlem—by Jake Levine

A Liberating League— An Understanding of Sid Grossman and Vivian Cherry by Hannah Walcoe

COLLABORATING WITH CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Alfred Stieglitz

Featured PUBLIC photo submissions

Alfred Stieglitz Equivalent (1925)

Alicia Mies Palo Alto High School

Ashley Alexander Berkeley High School

Rebecca Stievater Plymouth, VT

Jewish Photographers Picture
the Modern World

Students interpret the work of
20th Century masters

University of Michigan student
Morgan Rondinelli looks at
Arthur Leipzig

University of Michigan student
Russ Schindler looks at
Stephen Shore

Northwestern University student
Alice Li on Saul Leiter

Bringing Community Back
into Focus—A Photo Icons
Comparison by Claire Roos

Ushering in Street
Photography—A Photo Icons
Comparison by Joseph Mayer

Documenting Harlem—by
Jake Levine

A Liberating League—
An Understanding of Sid
Grossman and Vivian Cherry
by Hannah Walcoe

Alfred Stieglitz
Equivalent (1925)

Alicia Mies
Palo Alto High School

Ashley Alexander
Berkeley High School

Rebecca Stievater
Plymouth, VT