From Michael Ernest Sweet’s interview with Meryl Meisler for Street Photography:
Meisler photographed the streets, back yards, and even living rooms of her community in the 70s and 80s, although much of her work is not actually candid. Even the street photographs, Meisler explains, were somewhat based on consent. “Most of my street photographs are not candid. Then and now, I usually ask the subjects verbally or with non-verbal cues if I may take their photograph. People usually gave their permission. If not, it was no big deal. I would often tell the person what about them sparked my interest in taking their photo.” I think this is an important part of Meisler’s story as a lot of her images have an intimacy that many of us long to achieve in our street photography. Truth be told, that intimacy is often achieved by making some kind of contact with the subject. Vivian Maier worked in a related way and achieved similar results.
Browse the exhibition “New York PARADISE LOST Bushwick Era Disco,” at ClampArt
Browse all of Meryl Meisler’s work at ClampArt