the day the light fell... photographs and commentary by Mark A. Johnson

I was recently part of a group photographers who were treated to a guided tour of Street Seen: The Psychological Gesture in American Photography, 1940–1959 by the exhibition organizer and curator of photographs at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Lisa Hostetler. She was thoroughly engaging both in the presentation of the exhibition and in her personal insights provided during the tour.

I'm intrigued by and can relate to the styles, or rather, how the featured photographers (Lisette Model, Louis Faurer, Ted Croner, Saul Leiter, William Klein, and Robert Frank) shied from the classic styles of the period, in favor of a more immediate and fluid approach to photography. Lisa notes that the artists "viewed photography as an “act of living”—an exploration of identity rather than a tool for telling a story"; it's in that connection to the moment and the resulting emotions, that the story is told.