 Girls with Umbrellas Matt Bialer photograph, 16" x 20"; SOLD Exhibited at Village West in the Under the Influence show, Fall 2016 |
 World's Fair, New York City (1964) Gary Winogrand Inspiration piece for Matt Bialer for the Under the Influence show, Fall 2016 |
It was late 1985. I had just starting doing black and white street photography in New York. I was familiar with the work of the Hungarian photographer Andre Kertesz and the Frenchman Henri Cartier-Bresson; but I was not that familiar with many other photographers. I was very curious and soon got to know the work of artists like Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt, Lee Friedlander, Josef Kouldelka, and William Klein. Each of these photographers has amazing work. But when I saw the work of Garry Winogrand, it was a life altering revelation to me. He captured the energy, humor and rawness of the big city. His photographs were marvels of choreography. In his shots, people are walking down a street or sitting on a bench, and the captured image presents a microcosm of the world. The subjects of the picture do not even know each other and likely will never walk past each other again. Yet, in that moment, they are connected and share a story of intrigue.
Winogrand photographed people on the street, in airports, at rodeos, and in zoos. Anyone and anywhere was fair game. He used animals to reflect and mirror the human condition. He made subtle statements while capturing everyday life.
From Winogrand, I learned to strive for complex composition combined with humorous story telling. And by following in his footsteps, I learned to wander the streets of New York City and to enjoy the act of seeing.
His photograph "World's Fair, New York City" from 1964 is more affectionately called "Ladies on the Bench". In it, Winogrand captures two men and six women seated on a park bench with their bodies contorting into very expressive poses. There is humor and laughter and familiarity. The physical links between them imply narratives but we just don't know what they are. This photograph helped teach me to search for links between people on the street whether they know each other or not. I look at what they are wearing. What kind of dresses or ties or hats. I look at the buildings and people and windows between them. I look for patterns and links. I look for the narrative that is unknown, In my own photograph, I found it with the girls and the umbrellas and the larger umbrellas in Bryant Park behind them. It is obviously different than Winogrand's bench but there is rhythm and pattern and humor.
When I first started to photograph, I would go to a place like the Bronx Zoo and look for Winogrands that I could make my own. It was the same thing with people on benches. I would look for Winogrands. But I stopped doing that. It was too frustrating and I realized that I didn't have to do that anymore. I had absorbed the work of Winogrand and many other brilliant photographers and it started to just be a part of me and influence the way I see.
If you are interested in purchasing this work, please contact Matt Bialer or visit www.mattbialer.com.