From The New York Times

M.A.Longmore · Jun 13, 2012

[h=1].
'Unknown Weegee,' on Photographer Who Made the Night Noir[/h]
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/a...&en=25641e44cd752654&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Ron
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Gerald C Koch · Jun 13, 2012

"Oh, darling, life's a banquet and most poor suckers are starving!" I feel sorry for todays generation and their parents who were raised in a cultural desert. I can guess the Times writer's age. Weegee is not unknown, at least to many of us. Unfortunately, western civilization has been on life support for decades.

Moopheus · Jun 13, 2012

Gerald C Koch said:
Weegee is not unknown, at least to many of us.

I remember seeing that exhibit. The "Unknown" didn't refer to Weegee, but the exhibit of some of Weegee's lesser-known photos that were rarely published or exhibited.

Gerald C Koch · Jun 13, 2012

The heading can taken either way. perhaps it should have been Weegee's Lesser Known Photos. I would expect better from the Times.

M.A.Longmore · Jun 13, 2012

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I Am Assuming That The Title Of The Exhibit Was Chosen By
The International Center Of Photography ...

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Gerald C Koch · Jun 13, 2012

In good English an adjective modifies the noun that immediately follows it. The person who came up with the title should be beaten serverely with a Strunk style manual.

cliveh · Jun 13, 2012

When I was about 13, I noticed an ad in the local paper saying that the great Weegee would be at a local department store on Saturday. As I was already interested in photography I went along to meet him. When I got there, I was the only one there and he was smoking a big cigar, was very talkative and spent some time showing me a Zenith camera with something like a 500mm focal length telephoto lens on a tripod, which was pointed on a view out the window. At the time I was too young to appreciate his work, but to this day I am quite proud of the fact that I had the opportunity of talking to such an accomplished photographer. Many years later I went to a Weegee photographic exhibition in Oxford and although the prints were just put up with something like drawing pins, it is the best exhibition I have ever seen.

Vaughn · Jun 13, 2012

Much ado about nothing...the title is fine with me. 'Weegee' is used not just as the person, but also as a set of photographic work...as in "I went to see a bunch of 'Ansels'."

In the article, the first paragraph starts after a series of Weegee quotes, "The imagined speaker is Arthur Fellig, better known, and very well known, as Weegee (1899-1968)." Certainly does not leave anyone guessing.

That aside, I'd love to see the show.

Ken Nadvornick · Jun 13, 2012

cliveh said:
When I was about 13...

Great story! Thanks for that.

Ken

Benoît99 · Jun 13, 2012

Gerald C Koch said:
In good English an adjective modifies the noun that immediately follows it. The person who came up with the title should be beaten serverely with a Strunk style manual.

In the world of art, an artist's name can be used to refer to his works. Not too long ago, the Chicago Tribune ran a piece entitled "Unknown Van Gogh Pops Up In Wisconsin". It was about a painting, not one of Vincent's distant cousins.

Since the exhibit has several photos, it could have been called Unknown Weegees. On the other hand, perhaps the name is intended to refer to the artist, in the sense that the photos give us new insights into Weegee himself. An example of that approach is seen in a biography of Abraham Lincoln entitled "The Unknown Lincoln".

M.A.Longmore · Jun 13, 2012

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I First Read About Weegee, When I Was 15.
And Now Reading About Weegee, At 51, I Guess
You Could Say That He Is Unknown, To Me ...

Ron
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Moopheus · Jun 13, 2012

Gerald C Koch said:
In good English an adjective modifies the noun that immediately follows it.

It does. It suggests not just the specific previously unseen work, but that the work illuminates an aspect of Weegee's career that is sometimes unappreciated. Strunk? Feh. I am a professional copyeditor; I can out-pedanticize anyone here.

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