“Photographs are born of the positives and negatives accumulated in a lifetime.”
– Al Jaffee
Brooklyn-born Jay Jaffee (1921 – 1999) takes us to a New York City of energy, isolation, emotion and ambition. His sublime black-and-white photographs evoke stories in their textured and balanced blend of of lights and shadow.
Having served as an infantry squad leader during World War II and seen action in Europe, photographing was a step change from the horrors of war and a way to tell the story of his own life. Through pictures of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of his childhood, Manhattan, Queens and Long Island he watch for and preserve those fleeting moments of wit, place and everyday human life.
He attended classes taught by Sid Grossman, of the legendary Photo League, and met with Edward Steichen, then curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. Steichen offered encouragement and requested three prints, which became part of the museum’s permanent collection. In 1950, two were included in the group show “Fifty-One American Photographers.”
Via: American Suburb
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