Forensic Photography, Film Noir, and Fellig: Scenes Excavated by the Night Prowler

Abstract

The transfer of pictorial styles between image practices is examined here through the work of early police photographers, the cinematic style of film noir, and the street images of Arthur Fellig (Weegee). Paradoxically, the moral ambiguity depicted in the former two practices echoes that suggested by Weegee's working method and our own status as viewers; death is presented as a product for our consumption. These apparently distinct practices trespass on the more sordid aspects of life in the modern city, but their products were intended for disparate use. The practitioners of these respective crafts, however, did not exist in a cultural vacuum and evidence of the symbolic heritage operating can be inferred, if we have the time to excavate it.

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