Collecting Photographers: Arnold Newman

Introduction
The fraternity/sorority of photographers who actually make their living taking pictures is unbelievably small, even when you add all of our predecessors throughout the ages. At one point I realized despite my aesthetic preferences, they were all my heroes. I devoured all the stories, biographies & rumors I could glean. Since our history is so short many of them are still around, still making history. I found that as I toured around the world I could look them up in the telephone book & many would give me an audience.

One good friend who observed what I was doing accused me of “collecting photographers”. What’s the harm in that?

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STATES of SIEGE

Since prehistoric times war has been primal to the human estate. War is an integral part of our DNA. The simplest disputes have been settled by violence. These exploits become legend & generations have drawn pictures on cave walls, sung songs, written books to make sure nobody forgets.

"Blood alone moves the wheels of history."
-Benito Mussolini

When I was a boy, my friends & I used to play “war”. We dressed up as soldiers & fabricated weapons. We ran around the neighborhood shooting & blowing everything up, mimicking the sound effects of gunfire & explosions we heard on television. At the time, I am sure we saw it as romantic, heroic & exciting. We killed each other over & over but nobody dies in make-believe. Some of us never outgrow that illusion.

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Subways

Today I traveled an enormous distance—from Wall Street to 125th Street—from Downtown to Harlem. Now in the grand scheme of things that is really only 7.74 miles but when you compress such vast differences in neighborhoods I passed through, you end with a montage of rivaling American poetry: from Carl Sandburg to Malcolm X, from show tunes to hip hop. Over two days I emerged to photograph several icons in between: Times Square, 42nd Street, Central Park, etc.

"The oldest subway in the world is London, 1863."

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