Joel Meyerowitz
The internationally best known photographer Joel Meyerowitz counts - next to Stephen Shore and William Eggleston - as one of the important representatives of the "New Color Photography" movement in the 1960s and 70s. He did start his career as a street photographer and is best known for his sensitive photographs of people and especially situations. Together with Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus he went out on the streets of New York City in the early 1960s to explore the street life and the media itself.
When he moved to Cape Cod in the mid 1970s he switched to the 8x10 camera and starts to create his iconic photographs of "Cape light". Till today his use of light and color is still groundbreaking.
Filmmaker Ralph Goertz, photographed by Joel Meyerowitz during a shooting on 5th Avenue, New York
We were allowed to accompany the photographer during his setup of his show at the Hotel des Arts in Toulon, France where he presents more than 140 photographs of the last 50 years till his biggest Retrospective in Europe at the NRW-Forum in Duesseldorf in 2014/15 which gave the widest overview on his work with more than 260 photographs. This show was organized by the director of the IKS, Ralph Goertz and presented for the first time outside from the US, his series "From a moving car", which was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1968 (curated by John Szarkowsky).
Joel Meyerowitz at his Retrospective at NRW-Forum Duesseldorf
We also filmed Joel Meyerowitz during some shootings in Paris, Berlin and New York City and at his studios in New York City and his recent home at Tuscany, Italy. Filmmaker Ralph Goertz also followed his footsteps on Cape Cod, where he revisited his house and the beaches aound Truro, where Joel Meyerowitz has taken some of his most iconic works.
The IKS media archive contains hours of interviews, studio visits, street shootings and exhibition shots on video and photo. Joel Meyerowitz also supported the IKS with his own footage he shot on "Ground Zero".
Shooting in New York City
The IKS also was allowed to produce a special edition, three of his most important photographs from the 1960s/70s, you can find in our section "Editions / Books". The book, published by Walther König books and D.A.P. New York - edited by Ralph Goertz - is hard to find on the internet. Rare examples you will find for prices up to $ 800 on amazon. Our archive still owns some signed copies.
The documentary "JOEL MEYEROWITZ - SENSE OF TIME" by Ralph Goertz is available on DVD (ISBN 978-3-86335-605-7) as a 60 minutes version produced in 2014. In 2020 we produced a "DIRECTOR'S CUT" with 15 more minutes which is now available as video on demand on vimeo!
JOEL MEYEROWITZ - SENSE OF TIME - DIRECTOR'S CUT
Hotel des Arts Toulon, France
Shooting in New York City
Photos: Ralph Goertz © IKS-Medienarchiv