“New York City, Brooklyn, 1962”: They move like dancers. Arthur Leipzig captured them on film. Their movements seem to be governed by a kind of secret choreography. They grasp each other like dancers and the others react, their movements perfectly in sync. Their stage is a Brooklyn street, while the backdrop to their performance is a deteriorated wall in their house. While the photograph clearly shows the luck of finding an existing situation, the photographer’s intuitive insight enabled him to identify the exact moment when the game was condensed into a harmonious arrangement.
“Leipzig went all over the world, and returned with vivid photos of high aesthetic quality. Photos that both in content as well as form reflect the aesthetic requirements he had for photography.”
Leipzig’s true interest was not in technical achievements, but the human aspect of photography. His primary focus was America’s everyday life. His subjects were viewed as equals by him, and he treated them with the same emotional responsibility and respect. He also observed their actions with quiet humor and an understanding. Leipzig captured a window washer at the Empire State Building’s glass façade, which is a dizzying 100 stories above Manhattan’s roofs. He was able to create a unique photograph that combines these two elements in an uncommon portrayal of urban dynamism as well as sensitivity for the dangers faced by the worker.
“Arthur Leipzig captured a moment in playful togetherness. It shows movement at its most attractive form, and became the design principle of his work. As a photographer, I am interested in the human condition and have learned to predict the moment that is most telling. Sometimes it’s just a gesture. Other times, it’s a fleeting expression. Sometimes, it’s a sudden composition in my finder. That serendipitous moment must be embraced by the photographer. He was able to capture the seemingly chance play in Dodge Ball (1950), the exact moment when all elements of the photograph are combined for a fractional second into a complex structure. This picture is a masterpiece of formal beauty and elegance. It was captured from a high angle with a small detail. Long shadows replicate the movements and sequences in a ballgame, and transform them into ballet choreography.
~Sylvia Böhmer – Arthur Leipzig: Next Stop New York
The images in the book were drawn from more than four decades’ worth of Leipzig assignments for magazines such Fortune, Look and Parade. These subjects include underground coal miners from Virginia, a community composed of Ethiopian Jews, and winter fishing in North Atlantic. Leipzig’s photographs of children tell us the most about his compassion and caring nature as a photographer. Leipzig captured the joy and sadness of children through his camera lens.
~ASMP Magazine
“I will venture out and say that he photographed New York children better than any other photographer (Hilary Levitt included). It’s not the fact that the photographs are exceptionally composed. It is the feeling of power and great respect they captured.
~David Schonauer, American Photo Magazine, May 2007
We can’t see how high they jump, but it feels like they are doing it from a very far distance. The boys are seen leaping with abandon, following each other in perfect order. This was captured in mid-air. Their handsome, boyish bodies seem like gazelles, but their swimsuits are a reminder that this is 1948, shortly after World War II. They look too young to be soldiers, but they appear to be teenagers. They could be their fathers who have just returned from the overseas, or they may not have returned at all. There are corner candy shops, the overhead El and neighborhoods where everyone is Black, Italian or Irish. It’s a different age, and Leipzig has kept a consummate moment for boys before they became adults, when they could spend a hot afternoon swimming in the river. Are there any boys who still swim in East River? We now know what is in it. I don’t think so.
~Photo Metro, Feb 2000
“Leipzig entered the field of photography through the humanistic instruction provided by the Photo League. His photographs are much less concerned with material conditions than about human relations. He often focuses on urban children at their play, turning a stretch a pavement into a chalk-lined carnival and a mailbox into an inviting perch. Their resourcefulness is a profound lesson about the importance of spontaneity, energy and openness. Leipzig’s street photography is street photography of the highest quality, a torrent caught midstream and an urban ballet played one frame at a.
~ Los Angeles Times, July 10, 1998
Leipzig’s success lies in the way that he mixes engaging personality captured off-guard. This is a story worth telling and a dynamic composition. There is a tremendous amount of energy in “V.E. Day, Times Square in 1945. However, there is a lot of energy in “V.E.
~New York Times