Garry Winogrand was one of the greatest street photographers of the 20th Century. Or maybe ever. Born in the Bronx, Winogrand roamed the streets of NYC and captured the chaotic and dynamic energy that pulsed through the city. He often got intimately close to his subjects and took photos without their consent. He worked quickly: he would bring his Leica to his eye and—with a casual flick of the wrist (probably to hide his pressing the shutter?)—he was done inside a couple seconds. Sometimes his subjects noticed and would look back or maybe have a word with him. A lot of times, though, it just seemed like some magic trick had been performed on them and they walked away bewildered.

If I were to try to take pictures with his wrist flick, I’d probably get a whole lot of nothing. Not Winogrand. His photos are not just well-composed. They are raw, poetic, and full of life. Though he is known mostly for his black-and-white photos, the exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum is focused on nearly forgotten color photographs that Winogrand took, which are projected onto two large walls. These photos shed light on the social and physical landscape of New York City and other parts of the United States in the 50s and 60s. There is just something electric about his photos.

I also love that he didn’t want to attach too much depth and meaning to his photographs:

When people keep talking about photographs and depth—all a photograph ever does is describe light on surface. That’s all there is, light on surface. And that’s all we ever know about anybody, what we see.
—Garry Winogrand

“Garry Winogrand: Color” is on view at the Brooklyn Museum until December 8, 2019.