Contact: Alan Klein
Email: pardass@mac.com
Address: 8513 St Vrain Rd. Longmont Co. 80503
phone number: 303 678 9327
Irwin Klein was a photographer whose work covered the years between 1962 and his untimely death in 1974. His work deserves a reconsideration for its powerful documentary and aesthetic qualities. Members of his family and close friends are searching for a forum to provide the public with an opportunity to see his important work.
Mr. Klein's work has appeared in a number of publications, including Modern Photography, Popular Photography, Aperture, and Peter Galassi's American Photography, 1890-1965, From the Museum of Modern Art. He was also included in Vision and Expression, An International Survey of Contemporary Photography by Nathan Lyons, which was based on the exhibition of the same title at the George Eastman House in 1969. Both the Eastman House and the Museum of Modern Art have some of his prints in their permanent collections. In 1979 his Minnesotaæ Fire photograph appeared in the Time-Life Books Photography Year. This image was among those selected by John Szarkowski's controversial show at MoMA in 1965. In addition, Mr. Klein's work has been exhibited at the Baldwin Street Gallery in Toronto and at the Witken Gallery in New York City. See resume/timeline for more details. Irwin Klein saw himself as both a participant and an observer in the documentary process. He used normal and wide angle lens on a Leica M2 to record subjects he encountered in public and private spaces.
His work can be divided into three distinct locations and periods:
- Minnesota in the early 1960s, New York City in the mid to late 1960s, and New Mexico from 1967 to 1971. The photographs from Minnesota, include his Minnesota Fire(see cover). This photograph, which launched Mr. Klein's career, has appeared in several publications and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
- His New York City photographs depict the psychological space of Manhattan and the energy of discontent in the Lower East Side, Little Italy, Central Park, and Midtown.
- His photographs of New Mexico document the communes, families, couples, and small groups, exploring the connection between these new settlers and two American archetypes, the pioneer and the yeoman farmer.
Each grouping, Minnesota Observations, New York City Enclosures, and New Settlers of New Mexico contains atleast 80 prints and could be a standalone exhibit as well as the possibility of a retrospective that would have the best photo selections from each of the groupings. There are also cds available on request that provide the entire set of photographs.
We look forward to hearing from you. We would also be available to talk by phone if there were any other questions you might have. My phone number is 303 678 9327 and Email is: pardass@mac.com