Untitled (Boys in Vacant Lot)

Ben Shahn

1931–32 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

Ben Shahn surreptitiously photographed street life in the 1930s using a 35mm Leica camera outfitted with a special right-angle viewfinder that allowed him to capture his subjects unaware. Weaving in and out of crowds and taking advantage of his height and bearlike physique, he fashioned graphically innovative and often surreal photographs that defied the prevailing rules of pictorial composition. This study of kids at play in a rubble-filled vacant lot illustrates Shahn's instinctive grasp of the possibilities of the handheld camera in describing the theater of the street and recording the subtleties of a momentary gesture or action.

Artist

Ben Shahn

Date

1931–32

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987