The Photography of Jim Moore

POST 9
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Jim Moore, colleague of and paparazzo to a generation or two of street performers and new wave vaudevillians, has a new photography exhibition in New York running through next week. You’ve probably seen Jim’s work even if you don’t know it, and many of you also saw him in the Academy-Award winning documentary, Man on Wire, where he swivels his head with the best of them. (BTW, this movie is available on Netflix instant play.)

For the 98.3% of you who can’t get to Jim’s show, here are a few goodies. First of all, here’s Jim’s web site.

And the press release for the show:

Loader Loading...
EAD Logo Taking too long?

Reload Reload document
| Open Open in new tab

And here are all the nice things Jim made me write about him for his show catalog:

Like all fine photographers, Jim Moore has more than just a keen eye and polished technique. For over four decades he has displayed a sixth sense, a knack for being in the middle of the action. No, Jim, was no Robert Capa or Eddie Adams, dodging bullets in some war zone to get his shots. Instead, he was living and breathing the world of — what should we call it exactly? — the eccentric performer, including but not limited to the clown, juggler, wirewalker, magician, busker, sword swallower, puppeteer, new vaudevillian… that ancient tribe that has been delighting and astounding audiences since pre-historic times, and whose singular skills and presentation make a statement that resonates louder than ever in this age of mass-produced entertainment.

Jim began as a street performer in the 70s and made it his business to know everyone. And to photograph them. He saw their shows, sometimes even performed with them. Above all, he lived the life. Whether he shot you in performance, on location, or in his studio, he’s always had that uncanny ability to capture the essence of these highly individualistic characters. The result is a remarkable visual history of some amazing people. Enjoy!

And here’s a short slide show with some sample shots:

Loader Loading...
EAD Logo Taking too long?

Reload Reload document
| Open Open in new tab
COMMENT

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SHARE
EXPLORE FURTHER
RELATED POSTS
TRANSLATE THIS PAGE
You can e-mail me at
Workshops & Other Events
My first book (1976)

My book Clowns has long been out of print, but you can borrow it for two weeks at a time from the Internet Archive. More information is available here.

My second book (2015)

Visual and verbal humor for the cognitively and artistically curious! Available here.

“A book to treasure!”
—Bill Irwin