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Copyright ©
Lee Friedlander
or applicable right holders.
Poster
Self Portrait: Photography by Lee Friedlander, MOMA, 2005, ISBN 0870703382, pl. 5
Self Portrait: Photography by Lee Friedlander, MOMA, 2005, ISBN 0870703382, pl. 5
Buffalo, NY (1968) is an exemplar of Friedlander's groundbreaking approach to street photography and formalist self-portraiture in post-war America.
The photograph is a complex visual puzzle created using reflections in a street-level window display. Rather than capturing a straightforward view, Friedlander layers multiple planes of reality into a single flattened surface:
Friedlander introduces his own silhouette/reflection into the image, a signature motif from his seminal 1960s self-portrait series. By casting himself into the storefront window, he functions simultaneously as the observer and an element within the composition. The composition incorporates commercial lettering, posters, and urban paraphernalia. This juxtaposition creates a dialogue between found text, consumer culture, and the spatial chaos of modern streetscapes.
The glass storefront acts as both a mirror reflecting the street behind him and a transparent barrier revealing the interior display, forcing the viewer's eye to navigate multiple depths simultaneously. Eugene Atget first pioneered this technique with his shop windows photographs in Paris in the 1910s and 20s
Produced during the era of the pivotal New Documents exhibition (MoMA, 1967) featuring Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, and Diane Arbus, this print captures the quirky, fractured nature of American urban life.
Buffalo, NY (1968) is an exemplar of Friedlander's groundbreaking approach to street photography and formalist self-portraiture in post-war America.
The photograph is a complex visual puzzle created using reflections in a street-level window display. Rather than capturing a straightforward view, Friedlander layers multiple planes of reality into a single flattened surface:
Friedlander introduces his own silhouette/reflection into the image, a signature motif from his seminal 1960s self-portrait series. By casting himself into the storefront window, he functions simultaneously as the observer and an element within the composition. The composition incorporates commercial lettering, posters, and urban paraphernalia. This juxtaposition creates a dialogue between found text, consumer culture, and the spatial chaos of modern streetscapes.
The glass storefront acts as both a mirror reflecting the street behind him and a transparent barrier revealing the interior display, forcing the viewer's eye to navigate multiple depths simultaneously. Eugene Atget first pioneered this technique with his shop windows photographs in Paris in the 1910s and 20s
Produced during the era of the pivotal New Documents exhibition (MoMA, 1967) featuring Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, and Diane Arbus, this print captures the quirky, fractured nature of American urban life.
Self Portrait: Photography by Lee Friedlander, MOMA, 2005, ISBN 0870703382, pl. 5
