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August 29, 2008 |
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Created and Maintained by: The Photoimaging Information Council |
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by Erica Wright |
 
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New York City breeds its own sort of celebrity. Sure, there are movie stars in residence, but there are also columnists for The New York Times, performance artists at P.S. 1, and poets having lunch on the Upper West Side among others who wouldn't draw a second glance beyond the perimeters of the five boroughs. Photographers such as Richard Avedon and Diane Arbus both reached and helped others reach such distinction. And in this respect, Amy Arbus is following in the footsteps of her teacher and mother, respectively. Of course, the younger Arbus is also making her own imprints on the photography scene.  Amy Arbus Author Photo © 2006 Amy Arbus. From On the Street: 1980-1990, published by Welcome Books in 2006.
Arbus certainly never intended to follow the lead of her mother (or her father, photographer Allan Arbus) and was actually studying music in Boston when photography found her. Even when she began studying photography seriously, she never aspired to be a great artist; rather, she hoped to gain access to the people her shy demeanor normally kept her from approaching. Despite such natural reserve, Arbus became the woman you wanted to see coming your way when her monthly column, "On the Street," was running in The Village Voice during the 1980s. This series of impromptu street photographs included rising icons such as Madonna and Anna Sui and plenty of now-forgotten local celebrities who enjoyed their fifteen minutes. This fall, Welcome Books released a book version of Arbus's eleven-year column, On the Street: 1980-1990. The publication follows two earlier books, No Place Like Home (Doubleday, 1986) and The Inconvenience of Being Born (Fotofolio, 1999). Arbus hopes for similar fates for her current projects. One of these endeavors is a series of portraits taken of actors off-stage but in costume and in characters. In a recent interview with TakeGreatPictures.com, Arbus aptly described the images as if "fictional characters had come to life." And indeed, the results of this project are almost magical, suggesting no concrete place or time.  Cover: Madonna (St. Marks Place, 1983) © 2006 Amy Arbus. From On the Street: 1980-1990, published by Welcome Books in 2006.
Of course, Arbus's on-going project of photographing rites and rituals has a similar otherworldly quality despite their actual dates. Until recently, Arbus limited herself to public ceremonies—religious processions, dance competitions, football games—but now she is moving into the private realm. In addition to book projects, Arbus has also had more than a dozen solo exhibitions and continues to shoot commercial work for high-profile clients and publications such as American Express, New Line Cinema, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. And as if her resume weren't intimidating enough, she also has photographs in the collection of the MoMA in New York.  Page 16-17: The Clash (Broadway, 1981) © 2006 Amy Arbus. From On the Street: 1980-1990, published by Welcome Books in 2006.
Despite early hesitations to pursue photography as a career and later hesitations to pursue photography as an art, Arbus has continued to prove herself as something of an icon in her own right. She is particularly so regarded by the numerous students she has guided over the years at the International Center for Photography, the Fine Arts Work Center, and the Toscana Photographic Workshops. She explains her generosity to her students without grandiosity, stating simply, "I've had a great support system, and that's what I try to create for them." And if the results of Arbus's support system—whether via osmosis from her mother or in a workshop from Avedon—mean photographs that take you out of the present moment and into a moment of timelessness, then such support systems can't be overrated.
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