Lee Friedlander and the American "Social Landscape"

     Lee Friedlander was born in Aberdeen Washington to immigrant parents on July 14th, 1934 (Wikipedia). According to Wikipedia, he is known as a very shy and private man, notoriously giving very few interviews and staying away from social media, so not much is known about his private life or how he grew up. What we do know, is that his mother, Kaari Nurmi, died when the photographer was just seven years old. While little to nothing is known about his upbringing, we do know that he took an interest in photography around the age of fourteen (icp.org).

    Friedlander is famous for his work in cities across the United States, most notably, New York City. He would take his camera out every day, and photograph things he deemed interesting enough to take photos of. He is quoted as saying: 

"You don't have to go out looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out, and the pictures are staring at you." - Lee Friedlander (artnet.com)

     

    To the right is one of Friedlander's most famous pieces. It's from a series of photos he did in the 60s called The Little Screens. He went around to different motels and taking pictures of the TV screens in the room, then putting pictures of the contemporary stars of the day into the screens (fraenkelgallery.com). These photographs give off the feeling of loneliness by putting the glamor of Hollywood on the screen while the television is surrounded by bland furniture and little decoration.

    

    My favorite work is the one on the left. It's titled New York City and was taken in 1966 (icp.org). Though not the intention, I find this photo can say a lot about the relationship and the social gap between genders. The photo is of a woman, seemingly standing at a crosswalk in the city, with the shadow of a man's head on her back. To me, as a woman, this represents multiple things. The first; women are always under the shadow of men, and always have been. They control our politics, the controlled what we would say, they told us we couldn't vote. Even today many men say the United States should not have a female president, because women are too "emotional". The second thing that comes to mind is the dangers men present to women every day. There is a saying, "not all men, but somehow always a man," which represents this photo very well, in my opinion. The theory is that men have historically proven that if a woman were to be incapacitated, a man will take advantage of her. If she is in a precarious situation, a man will help, but will expect something in return. Many women are afraid to trust men, because not all men, but somehow always a man, will take advantage of a woman's trust and betray her with it.

    Friedlander's work is truly art. It can be interpreted in so many ways and can say so many things. A picture is worth a thousand words, and that is what we witness when looking at Lee Friedlander's work.