A new photography book titled 'A Sense of Wonder' is set to showcase the extraordinary six-decade career of Joel Meyerowitz, one of America's most influential street photographers. The comprehensive volume, published by SKIRA and scheduled for release on September 30, features more than 90 carefully selected images that demonstrate how Meyerowitz revolutionized street photography through his pioneering use of color to capture the complexity of modern urban life.
Meyerowitz's journey into photography began unexpectedly in 1962 while working as an art director in New York City. During that year, he was assigned to design a booklet featuring imagery shot by acclaimed Swiss-American photographer Robert Frank. Despite knowing very little about photography or Frank's documentary work at the time, this collaboration would prove to be a life-changing moment for Meyerowitz. 'When I watched him work, something transformed in me,' Meyerowitz revealed in an interview with SKIRA CEO Catherine Castillon. 'I understood that time and instinct were the resources of photography.'
Inspired by this revelation, Meyerowitz made a bold decision that would define the rest of his career. He returned to his advertising agency and announced his intention to leave and pursue photography professionally, despite not even owning a camera at the time. In a stroke of fortune, his boss immediately reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a Pentax camera, and handed it to him. Meyerowitz then purchased a couple of rolls of film from a local camera store, read the instruction manual on the spot, and took his first photograph from a Manhattan street corner, unknowingly launching what would become a legendary career in photography.
The upcoming book highlights Meyerowitz's unique approach to street photography, which the publisher describes as helping to 'redefine street photography through his unique and pioneering use of color to interpret and fully capture the complexity of the modern world.' Unlike many of his contemporaries who worked primarily in black and white, Meyerowitz embraced color photography early in his career, using it as a tool to convey the full emotional and visual richness of urban life. His work spans an impressive range of subjects, from crowded city sidewalks filled with throngs of people to quiet, empty residential streets that capture more contemplative moments.
Throughout his career, Meyerowitz has consistently emphasized what he calls the fundamental experience of seeing. His approach involves empathetically observing and immersing himself completely in daily life to capture fleeting, unique, and intimate moments that might otherwise go unnoticed. This philosophy is evident across his diverse body of work, which includes the hustle and bustle of 1960s brownstone stoops, the controlled chaos of busy airports, atmospheric settings like quiet city mornings, and the serene emptiness of abandoned swimming pools.
One of the most significant and emotionally powerful chapters of Meyerowitz's career came in 2001, when he documented the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. His striking and haunting images of the decimated World Trade Center site offer viewers a raw, unfiltered glimpse of the destruction and its impact on New York City. These photographs stand as both historical documents and powerful artistic statements about tragedy, resilience, and the human experience in the face of unprecedented loss.
Denis Curti, who wrote the introduction to 'A Sense of Wonder,' provides insight into what makes Meyerowitz's work so compelling and enduring. 'Joel Meyerowitz is gifted with rare and special receptors,' Curti observes. 'Walking along the city sidewalks, he observes the movements of the crowd from the inside; his point of view is being there, since so many unpredictable events can be captured in a single frame to structure a renewed process of meaning in photography. In this way, he reveals the hidden aspects of places, people, and life itself, illuminating the dark corners of the social and cultural languages of our time.'
The book features iconic images spanning Meyerowitz's entire career, including photographs from New York City taken in 1963, 1975, 1976, and 1978, capturing the evolution of the city across different decades. Other notable works include 'Red Interior, Provincetown, Massachusetts' from 1977, images from Los Angeles Airport, California from 1976, and a photograph from Florida taken in 1978. One particularly significant image, 'View of the Site from the World Financial Center, Looking East, New York City, 2001,' represents his documentation of Ground Zero in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
'A Sense of Wonder' is now available for pre-order through Bookshop, and readers interested in exploring more of Meyerowitz's extensive portfolio can visit his official website. The publication represents not just a retrospective of one photographer's remarkable career, but also a visual chronicle of American urban life across six transformative decades, captured through the lens of an artist who understood that the most profound moments often occur in the most ordinary circumstances.
