to heaven for 75 minutes…
On Monday afternoon (7/19) I went to heaven – for 75 minutes. That was how long I sat in the (practically standing room only) audience at the Strand Theatre in Rockland listening to Jeff Rosenheim’s lecture (organized by Maine Media Workshops) on Helen Levitt, who I think is one of the 20th century’s most important photographers.
© Estate of Helen Levitt. All Rights Reserved.
Not only is Mr. Rosenheim the Curator, Dept. of Photographs at the Met, but he was actually a friend of Ms. Levitt’s for over 15 years. He went to see her as a student and she kind of took him under her wing until she died last March at the age of 95. Last year he lectured on Robert Frank. The previous two years he focused on Walker Evans.
Did we get personal insights and behind-the-scenes chatter on Monday? Yeah, we sure did. Did we get a special treat? I call a “rare screening” of Levitt’s 1948 film “In the Street” (this copy was given to Mr. Rosenheim by Helen Levitt (!)) a VERY special treat. This street-photography-in-motion film is 14 minutes long and has got to be a national treasure.
Helen Levitt, 1988 © Estate of Helen Levitt. All Rights Reserved.
In 1965 Levitt published a book of photographs titled “A Way of Seeing” (you can buy a first edition here for $2400) with an essay by James Agee, her close friend. Originally scheduled for release in the 40′s, it was delayed for 20 years. It includes 50 of her earliest photographs.
I’m not going to give a short history of Levitt in this blog. There are tons of images online (that’s why this short posting took so long – I got waylaid for ages going through them again) and lots of bio material, so you can take a short course on your own.
© Estate of Helen Levitt. All Rights Reserved.
This annual lecture by Mr. Rosenheim is one of Maine Media Workshop’s annual gifts to its community. It was free, it was a chance of a lifetime, it was heaven.
© Estate of Helen Levitt. All Rights Reserved.
