Louis
Stettner ( born in 1922 ) is a celebrated American photographer
whose work includes iconic images of Paris and New York. He was born
and raised in Brooklyn, New York but moved to Paris in the 1950s,
where he now lives permanently with his family.
Louis
has photographed Paris and New York for over 60 years, capturing the
changes in the people, culture, and architecture of both cities.
Using both black and white and color images, his work documents
fleeting moments in the life of the cities, moments that often cannot
be recaptured. Stettner has documented the architectural and cultural
evolution of Paris and New York, making his archive of thousands of
images an important resource. Few photographers have such an
extensive archive of both cities, one that includes historic images
of each city's most celebrated landmarks and the daily lives of its
citizens.
His
work has an unforced naturalistic quality to it, as he sought to
capture the ordinary, every day lives of his subjects. He was
particularly interested in documenting the lives of the working class
in each city and he demonstrates much sensitivity in this endeavor,
photographing them with great dignity. A limited amount of his work
is devoted to still life and landscape images. Additionally, his
paintings and sculptures tend to be abstract and in sharp contrast to
his clear, vivid photographic images.
As a
teenager and young man, Stettner was a regular visitor to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art to explore its photographic prints
collection. His first camera was a wooden view camera and today he
still shoots with film rather than moving to digital images. Stettner
studied and taught at the Photo League until he went to Paris after
the Second World War. He received his Bachelor of Arts, Photography &
Cinema I.D.H.E.C. at Paris University. Throughout his life, he has
gotten to know and work with many great photographers. Stettner
visited Stieglitz's gallery - An American Place - but was too scared
to speak to him. After sending Stieglitz photographs, Stieglitz sent
him a handwritten letter of thanks which Stettner cherished. A little
later, Stettner visited Paul Strand, who supported his artistic
endeavors and encouraged him to continue photography. Later in Paris
the two men became friends.
Now in
his 80s, he continues to photograph with great energy. Stettner also
spends significant time sculpting and painting, as well as mixing his
work and “painting” on some of his photographic images.
