At the International Center of Photography (ICP), I was apprehensive. My grandfather and great-grandfather were both photographers, during World Wars I and II. I knew that photography could be art, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this. While the title of Weegee‘s exhibition,”Murder is My Business,” was promising, this was back in the earlier 1900’s. They wouldn’t be that graphic, right?

Wrong. A majority of them were graphic and of bloody corpses. Weegee also seemed to have a sense of humor. For instance, one photo is of a murder outside the Tudor Theater, which at the time was showing, “The Joy of Living.” Another showed a corpse outside the On The Spot Bar & Grill.

Weegee was obviously devoted to his work, as evident by the exact replica of his bedroom in the exhibit. It’s sparsely furnished, and the only thing not related to his work are his bed and desk.

Another photo that stood out was upstairs, where the pictures went from black-and-white to color. The photo in question looks like it could be a landscape, all blues greens, purples, and greys. It’s slightly pulled out of that by the housing dotting the bottom of the picture. The housing is cookie-cutter, but futuristic. This scene? Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan.

ICP is a interesting intersect between the future and the past of photography. I would suggest it to anyone interested in photography.