Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: Mashable Retronaut: NYC Subway in 1946, as seen by young Stanley Kubrick

Monday, January 19, 2015

Mashable Retronaut: NYC Subway in 1946, as seen by young Stanley Kubrick

c. 1946

The New York subway,
by Stanley Kubrick

Shots by a 17-year-old Kubrick, for 'Look' magazine

by Chris Wild

IMAGE: MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

"I think aesthetically recording spontaneous action, rather than carefully posing a picture, is the most valid and expressive use of photography," Stanley Kubrick said.

Maybe the statement wasn't earth-shaking,
but it startled me. The boy who said that
had turned 19 a week ago.

MILDRED STAGG, "CAMERA", 1948

IMAGE: MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

In 1946, Stanley Kubrick, then aged only 18, took these photographs of the New York Subway and had them published by LOOK magazine. He photographed for the magazine from 1945 to 1950.

According to Helen O'Brian, head of LOOK's photographic department, Kubrick generated the highest number of published articles of any photographer she had worked with. At the time, Kubrick was the youngest photographer LOOK had had on its books.

IMAGE: MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

All these images were taken using natural light. Commenting on them later, Kubrick described how he wanted to retain the subway's own mood in his pictures.

The pictures were taken across a fortnight of subway trips, half taking place after midnight. Capturing what he saw proved difficult - a subject would alight, a passenger would cross in front of his line of vision, and more significantly, the inherent movement of the trains rendered it impossible to take a photograph until the train had come to a halt.

IMAGE: MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

"Have you got permission?" the guard asked.
""I'm from 'Look,'" Kubrick answered.
"Yeah, sonny," was the guard's reply,
"and I'm the society editor of the 'Daily Worker.'"

"CAMERA", OCTOBER 1948