The Times of Bill Cunningham, Illustration by Ruben Toledo

The Times of Bill Cunningham is a film by Mark Bozek. Mark and Amon take a moment to converse about the inception, journey and process of taking Mark’s film to the silver screen.

Show Notes

• One minute interview
• Fox Style News
• QVC
• This is not a drill…
• Bill Cunningham 
• Carnegie Hall Studio
• Suzette Cimino
• Beta Camera
• Bernadine Morris
• His camera is pencil
• Be quiet more
• Diana Vreeland
• Duke and Duchess of Windsor
• Isabel Toledo
• Ruben Toledo 
• Bill Cunningham New York 
• Editing is the Art of Omission 
• Archive of 3 Million Photographs distilled to 25,500 Photographs then curated to 515 Photographs
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Answers exponentially more questions 
• Learning more about Bill
• Anna Wintour
• Weegee
• Museum of the City of New York
• ICP
• Harold Chapman
• Incredible New Yorker
• Fashion Historian
• Trish Jarvis Simonson 
• Protect Bill’s legacy 
• Orangeburg, NY
• “Didn’t know Armani from Salami…”
• “If they don’t pay you then they can’t tell you what to do.”
• Lead with heart and passion 
• Up at 4am
• The New York Times
• Born in a Funeral Home in Detroit 
• Cinema Art Centre in Huntington, Long Island
• AIDS Epidemic 
• Willi Smith
• Pat Cleveland 
• Great voice of New York
• Wrote voice over script
• Augusten Burroughs
• Sellevision
• Running with Scissors 
• Bradley Cooper
• Wedding Crashers
• Joy
• Barry Diller
• David O. Russell
• First Time Filmmaker
• Scar Tissue 
• Research and Proving the Research
• Get it right
• Tell a good story 
• Ezinma 
• Discovery
• Reached out to Moby
• Lift Me Up
• Taking Shots in the Dark
• Lee Strasburg
• Butler to the Stars
• Webster College, St. Louis 
• Ruthless, Focus and Passion about the work
• Toukie Smith 
• Profit and Loss Statement 
• Incredibly Lonely at the Top
• Lincoln Center
• New York Film Festival
• André Leon Talley
• Greenwich Entertainment 
• Steven Jones 
• Parsons
• Xenon
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
• Iris Apfel
• Never Stop, Stay Curious
• Relentless Curious 
• Nostradamus of fashion

Stay Up to Speed with The Times of Bill Cunningham

Website: https://www.billcunninghammovie.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bcunninghamfilm/

NYC FANS: Catch Q&As with THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM director Mark Bozek

Film Synopsis

Narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker, The Times of Bill Cunningham features incredible photographs chosen from over 3 million previously unpublicized images and documents from iconic street photographer and fashion historian Bill Cunningham. Told in Cunningham’s own words from a recently unearthed 1994 interview, the photographer chronicles, in his customarily cheerful and plainspoken manner, moonlighting as a milliner in France during the Korean War, his unique relationship with First Lady Jackie Kennedy, his four decades at The New York Times and his democratic view of fashion and society.

Director’s Statement

I began work on this film on the day of Bill Cunningham’s death in 2016 when I discovered a long-lost interview I had done with him from 1994.
Ten minutes into viewing the interview, I knew this would be my first film.

Eighteen months after discovering the interview, I was given rare access to Cunningham’s remarkable archive of photographs and documents. Not only did Cunningham photograph his beloved New York City for more than six decades but he safeguarded – and in fact slept on – his treasure trove of photographs and documents. His previously unpublished archive will likely become one of New York City’s most important.

– Mark Bozek

Bill Cunningham

William John “Bill” Cunningham Jr. (March 13, 1929 – June 25, 2016) was an American fashion photographer and fashion historian for The New York Times, known for his candid street photography. He began taking candid photographs on the streets of New York City, and his work came to the attention of The New York Times with a 1978 capture of Greta Garbo in an unguarded moment. Cunningham reported for the paper from 1978 to 2016. During that time he never missed one single week of reporting.

Cunningham was born into an Irish Catholic family and raised in Boston. He never lost his Boston accent. He had two sisters and an older brother. His parents were religious and ran a strict household. He had his first exposure to the fashion world as a stock boy in Bonwit Teller’s Boston Store. He later said his interest in fashion began in church: “I could never concentrate on Sunday church services because I’d be concentrating on women’s hats.” After attending Harvard University on scholarship for two months, he dropped out in 1948 and moved to New York City at the age of 19, where he worked again at Bonwit Teller, this time in the advertising department.

2. Bill Cunningham, Paris, 1970. Photo credit: Jean Luce Hure. Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment.

Not long after, Cunningham quit his job and struck out on his own, making hats under the name “William J.” He was drafted during the Korean War and was stationed in France, where he had his first exposure to French fashion. After serving a tour in the U.S. Army, he returned to New York in 1953 and his work as a milliner. In 1958, a New York Times critic wrote that he had “cornered the face-framing market with some of the most extraordinarily pretty cocktail hats ever imagined.” He also worked for Chez Ninon, a couture salon that sold copies of designs by Chanel, Givenchy and Dior. His clients in the 1950s included Marilyn Monroe, Katharine Hepburn and future First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier. Encouraged by his clients, Cunningham started writing, first for Women’s Wear Daily and then for the Chicago Tribune. He closed his hat shop in 1962. Following the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy sent Cunningham a red Balenciaga suit she had bought at Chez Ninon. He dyed it black and she wore it to the funeral.

~~~
We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode. Leave a comment on the Apple Podcast App and don’t forget to rate the show.

This week we headed to the Lower East Side to converse with ICP’s Curator-at-Large Isolde Brielmaier. In this episode we talk about the Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good solo exhibition, critical engagement with broad communities and the history of imaging.

Show Notes

Lower East Side
ICP International Center for Photography
Essex Market
Community and business relationships
Tyler Mitchell Exhibit
Curator at Large
Collaboration
Immersive
I Can Make You Feel Good
Black Utopia
Gut punching in optimism
Declaration of presence & joy
Expect to engage
Chasing Pink
Idyllic Spaces
Don’t touch
Intention
Open for interpretation
Contact High Vicki Tobak Episode
Contact High
Erin Barnett, Director of Exhibitions
James Coup, Warriors Film
Visual culture
Beyonce shoot for Vogue
Larry Clark to Gordon Parks
No Genre Driven Boundaries
Use of Technology
NYU Tisch
Professor of Imaging
Dr. Deborah Willis, Department Chair

~~~

The opening exhibitions are:

Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good—the photographer and filmmaker’s first US solo exhibition and the US premiere of several photographs, video, and installation works exploring new ways of interpreting Black identity today

Part of the exhibit “Tyler Mitchell: I Can Make You Feel Good.” (Photo by Amon Focus)

Tyler Mitchell, Untitled (Group Hula Hoop), 2019.

CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop—a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how iconic portraits came to be through four decades of contact sheets from major photographers documenting the hip-hop movement

A collection of Ricky Powell slides in the exhibit “CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop,” (Photo by Amon Focus)

Photos in the exhibit “CONTACT HIGH: A Visual History of Hip-Hop,” with photos of the LES on the upper level. (Photo by Amon Focus)

James Coupe: Warriors—a new series of moving image works that algorithmically categorize museum visitors and, using deepfake technology, inserts them into specific scenes from the 1979 cult classic film The Warriors

© James-Coupe

The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection—drawn from ICP’s rich holdings of mid-20th-century works, it examines the role of images in enduring narratives about the Lower East Side.

Photos in the exhibit “The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection” (Photo by Amon Focus)

Photos in the exhibit “The Lower East Side: Selections from the ICP Collection” with photos of the CONTACT HIGH on the Lower level. (Photo by Amon Focus)

~~~

About Isolde Brielmaier 

Official Website: https://www.isoldeb.com

Instagram: @isolde_brielmaier

For over a decade Isolde has worked internationally as a curator and cultural strategist, collaborating with noted contemporary artists, art institutions, companies and individuals to position them in the center of culture via headlining projects, cultural programming, social impact initiatives and partnerships that contextualize each entity in meaningful ways to drive buzz and engagement. Her diverse experience and broad reach highlights her ability to integrate and customize a global aesthetic into multiple platforms including art, design, architecture, technology, scholarship, fashion, publishing, public and private real estate as well as philanthropy.

Currently, Isolde is the inaugural Curator-at-Large at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in NYC. After six years as Executive Director and Curator of Arts, Culture & Community at Westfield World Trade Center, she is now the national advisor for Unbail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), a role in which she advises on artist projects and installations, cultural events, strategic and community partnerships across the organization. Isolde is also Professor of Critical Studies in Tisch’s Department of Photography, Imaging and Emerging Media at New York University, and continues to work on a range of cultural projects that bridge both the public and private sectors including commission based projects for Amazon Web Services | Smithsonian and the Peninsula Hotel Group. She serves as Editor at Large at Air Mail, Graydon Carter’s new media venture and speaks regularly on topics related to art, culture and social impact.

Isolde has been profiled and featured in the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, Elle, Vogue, Modern Luxury, WNYC Radio, CNN, Cultured, and Whitewall among others.

~~~

About ICP
The International Center of Photography is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Cornell Capa founded ICP in 1974 to champion “concerned photography”—socially and politically minded images that can educate and change the world. Through our exhibitions, education programs, community outreach, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. Visit icp.org to learn more.

Highlights of ICP’s new center include:

• 40,000 square feet of exhibition, education, and administration space
• Educational programs at all levels from youth to adult via continuing education classes, two part-time programs, three full-time one-year certificate programs, and an MFA program in association with Bard College
• A research library featuring over 22,000 books, artist files, and periodicals
• An expanded shop with a comprehensive photography book selection and imaginatively curated objects and apparel
• A new café offering pastries and sandwiches prepared by Café D’Avignon and featuring La Colombe coffee and tea
• Extended general hours: Monday through Sunday 11 AM–7 PM; open until 9 PM on Thursdays; closed on Tuesdays
• New admission fees: Adults $16; Seniors (62 and Over), Students (with Valid ID), Military, Visitors with Disabilities $12(caregivers are free); SNAP/EBT card holders $3
• Free admission: ICP members and ICP students; all visitors 18 years old and under
• Pay by donation hours: Thursdays from 5 to 9 PM and the last Saturday of the month from 11 AM to 2 PM

ICP’s new visual identity, designed by Pentagram, will launch with the opening of the new space. The logo harkens back to the stylized ICP acronym on the letterhead Cornell Capa used to announce ICP in 1974. Updated for the 21st century, the three letters (ICP) can now take an infinite number of forms, reflecting the countless and critical ways that photographers frame our world today.

~~~
We would love to hear your thoughts on the episode. Leave a comment on the Apple Podcast App and don’t forget to rate the show.

Today’s guest on the show is artist, photographer and first time director Stephen Wilkes.  Stephen is well known for his photographs of Ellis Island, Bethlehem Steel as well as being the creator of the panoramic photo-series Day To Night. Stephen is also the director of the new documentary film Jay Myself now playing at Film Forum. If you enjoyed last week’s episode with Jay Maisel then you’re going to love this conversation.

Big Love and Shout Out to Susan Norget Film Promotion

Stephen Wilkes (L) and Jay Maisel (R). Credit: © Stephen Wilkes

~~~

Keep Up to Date with Stephen Wilkes

Website: https://stephenwilkes.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/swilkesphoto

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenwilkes/

Credit: © Stephen Wilkes

~~~

Show Notes

JAY MYSELF -Official Trailer

Production companies: Mind Hive Films, Crooked Mile
Distributor:Oscilloscope
Director:Stephen Wilkes
Screenwriter:Josh Alexander
Producers:Henry Jacobson, Emma Tammi, Bette Wilkes
Executive producers:Stephen Wilkes, Jennie Wilkes, Michael Hirschmann
Directors of photography:Stephen Wilkes,Jason Greene
Editor:Armando Croda
Composer:Joel Goodman
Co-Executive Producer: Doug Blush
Additional Editing: Daniel Haworth
Music Supervisor: Jonathan Finegold
Shout out to Chris!

Bethlehem Steel, Credit: © Stephen Wilkes

• New Book: Stephen Wilkes. Day to Night
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StephenWilkesPhotography/
• Ted Talk: The passing of time, caught in a single photo
• Film Forum
• Themes
• Magic
• Passion
• Storyteller
• “What you put out there is what you get back” Stephen Wilkes Quote
• Yellow Pages
• Pre Internet: Who Invented the Internet?by evan andrews March 2019 History.com
• 190 Bowery
• The 72-Room Bohemian Dream House by wendy goodman September 2008 New York Magazine
• Ocean of photography
• “TERRIFC”
• Voice of Oz
• The Clapper(1984 commercial)
• Otis Hand Crank Elevator
• Cigars

Stephen Wilkes

• Sorel Boot Liners
• Shooting since I was 12.
• “Do you remember what your first visual inspiration?” (interview question asked by Stephen Wilkes of Jay Maisel)
• Bear witness
• Camera Obscura Effect(YouTube Video)
• iPhone
• gettyimages
• Evolved Visual Language
• A gift to Jay
• The importance of mentors
• Apprenticeship
• Kodachrome film
• A brief History of Kodachrome by claire suddath Time June 2009
• Documentaries
• Love Letter to Jay
• Mentor the audience
• Statement images
• Signatures
• The arc of his life
• Paul Simon – Kodachrome
• Kodachrome Lyrics by Paul Simon
• Paul Simon– Singer Songwriter and Actor
• Do your homework, be prepared, but ultimately be present.
• You are handed a card.
• The joy of seeing
• Seeing and looking
• Work of art
• Dismantling his best friend
• Moving
• E.T. and Elliot
• Deconstruction
• Amanda Maisel
• Jean Michel Basquiat– Artist
• Who Was SAMO?
• Keith Haring– Artist
• Barking Dogby Keith Haring
• CBBG
•  Louise Nevelson– Artist
• Roy Lichtenstein– Artist
• Chalkboard
• Bethlehem Steel – The Fat Lady Sang
• The power in words
• Jason Greene– cinematographer, photographer and documentary filmmaker
• “You can’t ever really smell yourself.” Jay Maisel Quote
• The character of Jay
• Horace Silver– American Jazz Pianist
• Horace Silver – They Jody Grind
• Film is collaborative
• Great listener
• Objectivity
• Life Magazine
• Bob Ciano – The Art of Jazz: Designs from the golden age of Modern jazz (interview)
• Stephen Wilkes Ellis Island
• Mark Webber
• New York Landmark Conservancy
• The South Side of Ellis Island
• Passion Project
• Shout out to Les!
• Zone system for color
• Pinhole lens
• Gravitational waves
• History in light
• Moment of Discovery
• Moment of Photography
• Connection of My Mother
• Parallels
• Sensitivity
• Learn from everything
• Be a little uncomfortable
• “I want to do things that inspire people. I want to do things that make statements.” – Stephen Wilkes Quote
• Love what you do & you will never work
• Hard work and passion
• Capturing ice crystals
• Jay Maisel on Color(Ice Crystals Images)
• Ice Crystals, Orangeby Jay Maisel
• See Jay Myself more than once!