Magnum Photographer: Wayne Miller

Wayne Miller:  Magnum Photgrapher

"Wayne F. Miller was an American photographer known for his series of photographs The Way of Life of the Northern Negro. Active as a photographer from 1942 until 1975, he was a contributor to Magnum Photos beginning in 1958." Wikipedia 

September 19, 1918 – May 22, 2013

Wayne Miller, the son of a doctor and nurse, was born in Chicago in 1918.  While in the US Army, he was one of the first photographers to photograph Hiroshima after the dropping of the bomb in 1941.  After the war he returned to Chicago and began to document the poverty of the Black American communities in the south end of the city.  His photos depicted the dirty, poverty stricken conditions in the city.  After being hired by Life Magazine, Miller moved to California in 1953.  President of Magnum Photos from 1962-1966, and then President of the Corporation for Public Broadcasing, Miller retired from photography in 1975.  

I realize that our blog was to choose four photos, but Miller was far too insritational to limit him to four.  His photographic work can be broken in three distinct portions of his career. He did much photography to document World War 2, which I did not include examples of in this blog.  Instead, I was breathtaken by the totally different feeling the two eras of his work in Chicago's South End, and then the affulence  of California.  Also, Miller was present with many icons of the arts and world of the era.  

When I look at his photos they very clearly tell a story.  It is where the phrase, a photo is worth a thousand words holds true.  The child reading Ebony Magazine upside down brings a light view to his images.  After, we see images of a mom and two hour old baby, with love and joy.  It is followed by a much more serious moment of a mother of a newborn baby in great anguish of how to provide for her child.  Living conditions are shown in a muddy, dark mess in the back alleys of Chicago.  The underworld culture is shown by the woman smoking.  In his other images he shows real people, in real situations, drunk, overworked, and tired.  

In stark contrast, the California era shows sleepovers, teenage angst, and a party.  Much more pleasant images to view.  Much of his work was to document the era and the photo of Woodward and Bernstein shows an example.  

He was a leader and I did not know until after I selected him that he was the President of Magnum photos during the 60's.  He is a true icon in photography of the century.