Gun 1, New York
Upon his return home in the late 1940s after eight years abroad in the army, Klein found his native New York City familiar but strange. Commissioned by Vogue to create a photographic book about the city, Klein recorded its vibrancy and grittiness, producing an uncompromising portrait that the magazine ultimately rejected. He subsequently took his photographs to Paris and published them under the title Life is Good & Good for You in New York. For this photograph, Klein asked two boys on Upper Broadway to pose. One pointed a gun at the camera, his face erupting with rage, mimicking the stereotypical poses of criminals in our image-saturated society.
Artwork Details
- Title: Gun 1, New York
- Artist: William Klein (American, New York 1928–2022 Paris)
- Date: 1954, printed 1986
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 45.4 x 33.3 cm (17 7/8 x 13 1/8 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of the artist, in honor of his mother, Mrs. Helen Klein, 1987
- Object Number: 1987.1006
- Rights and Reproduction: © William Klein
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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