2. • An American photographer
of Austrian birth.
• Emigrated to the US in
1910 to escape
prosecution for being
Jewish.
• Had many part-time jobs.
• Hired as a dark-room tech
in 1924.
Portrait of Weegee

3. Biography(cont.)
• Quit in 1935 to become a
freelance photographer
and photographic police
reporter.
• Began experimenting with
film-making in 1941 and
through the 1960’s
worked with panoramic
photos and distortion.

4. Origin of his odd
Nick-Name
•Weegee’s real name was
Usher Fellig; changed to
Arther Fellig when he
emigrated to the US.
•He earned the nickname
‘Weegee’ from his ability
to appear so early to
scenes of violence.
Police officer and lodge member looking at
•His name is originated blanket-covered body of woman trampled to
from the Ouiji Board. death in excursion-ship stampede, New
York, Aug. 18, 1941

5. Who Did He Influence?
Joel Peter
• Weegee is cited
Witkin
as an influence 1939-_____
by many
photographers
including Joel
Peter Witkin and
Lena Herzog.
Lena Herzog
1970-_____

6. His Work
• He worked as a night-
time photographer,
competing to be the
first to the scene of a
crime.
• He sold his photos to
tabloids and photo
agencies.
• He eventually quit his
job as a police reporter
Weegee often took photos of the
to take photographs for deceased after a violent crime or
magazines accident.

7. His Most Famous Photo
"I go around
wearing rose- •The Critic,
colored glasses. November 22,
In other words, 1943, first
we have beauty. published
We have in LIFE, Decembe
ugliness. r 6, 1943
Everybody likes •“The Critic” is
beauty. But there the second name
is an ugliness..." Weegee gave this
-Weegee, in photo. He
an interview for originally called it
W.E.A.F. radio on “The Fashionable
July 11, 1945. People”.
“The Critic”

8. Drunken men in the Bowery, c. 1943
This photo is
balanced, though
the subject is
not.

9. TIMES SQUARE - early
Tuesday morning,
August, 1945
Weegee often
took his photos
at night using a
flash, giving
any white in
the photo the
illusion that it
is glowing. There was Dancing in
the Streets of New
York, May, 1945

10. Caffé Bella Napoli,
Little Italy,
July 1944
(Caffé Bella Napoli) In
Little Italy friends meet
at the Café to
exchange gossip and
hear the latest news of
the war in Italy.

11. Charles Sodokoff and
Arthur Webber Use
Their Top Hats to
Hide Their
Faces, January 27,
1942
They both appear to be embarrassed because they are
hiding their faces.

12. Joy of Living, April 17, 1942
This photo can be considered
ironic, as it is a photo of police
covering the body of a man who
had died in a car accident, yet the
movie marquee in the background
reads the movie title “Joy of
Living”.

13. Marilyn Monroe (plastic lens), c. 1960
When Weegee quit
working as a police
photographer, he began
to work in distorting
photos.
EX.- Marilyn Monroe
(Photo taken by
Weegee.)

14. Nude (easel trick and plastic
lens),c.1953-6
• Another of Weegee’s distorted
photos taken using a formed
plastic lens.
• This photo features inverted
shades of black and white, as
well as high levels of contrast.

15. Works Cited
• “The Critic” Getty.edu The
J. Paul Getty Museum, N/A
3-14-2013
• “Weegee as Witness”
Artinamericamagazine.co
m Art in America, 3-5-12 3-
14-2013
Weegee developed photos in the trunk of his
car.

16. Works Cited(Continued)
• “Weegee the Famous”
museum.icp.org Weegee’s
World, 3-8-1998 3-14-2013
• “American Photographer
Weegee- Photojournalist or
Paparizzi?” Suite101.com
101, 10-4-2011 3-14-2013
• “Crime Was Weegee’s
Oyster” nytimes.com The
New York Times, 6-20-2008
3-14-2013
A distorted photo of a cat, taken by Weegee.