Artist Statement
I've been photographing on the streets and elsewhere for over twenty years. I'm interested in un-staged, unposed moments with the intention of creating both a historical and poetic document. Photographing in public keeps me awake and aware, always in awe at what we humans are up to. Process Statement
My process is linked to every day life and rarely do I go out specifically to shoot. Taking pictures is an extension of my journal writing and meditation practice. Many of my photos though documentary in nature, have a very personal resonance or meaning to me. I'm very interested in color and composition but I would not say it is my primary concern in deciding what photos have meaning.

 

 

Melanie Einzig grew up primarily in Minnesota. She attended college in India for a year before graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1991 with a BA in Hebrew. By that time she was living in New York City where she completed an MA in photography in 1995 at New York University and the International Center of Photography. From 1997 to 1999 she worked for the Associated Press in New York and since then has been freelance, photographing a combination of event and editorial photography in order to support her artistic work. Melanie's photos have appeared in many national and international newspapers and magazines including the New York Times and the New Yorker.

In 1995 her on-project "Rabbit Rat and Other Documentary Fantasies" was mentioned as an art web site worth surfing in the New York Times. In 1997 she received the Aaron Siskind Foundation Fellowship for her street photography project titled "Midtown." Since 1995 her personal work has been exhibited in several group shows, at the Ariel Meyerowitz gallery in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of the City of New York,The Oklahoma City Museum, and other venues in the United States and Europe. In 2008 a selection of her work toured in Europe as part of a show of American Photography (TH Inside). In 2011 her work was shown at "Right Here Right Now" Photo festival in Derby, UK as part of In-public, a street photography collective of which she has been a member since 2002. Her work has also been exhibited throughout Europe with the publication "Street Photography Now" (Thames and Hudson). Most recently, several of her works appeared in a high profile exhibition curated by William Ewing at London's Somerset house titled Cartier Bresson: A Question of Color.

Her photos are part of the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, SF MOMA's e-space, the Brooklyn Historical Society as well as other private collections. Several photos of New York City street life are included in "Timescapes" a permanent multimedia projection at the Museum of the City of New York. Her work is included in Bystander: A History of Street Photography (Bullfinch) 2002, Street Photography Now (Thames and Hudson) 2010, New York Color (Abrams) 2011, Cartier Bresson: A Question of Color (Positive View Foundation)2012.

Melanie has spoken on panels related to her work at Columbia University, Anthology Film Archives and the Art Institute of Chicago. She taught Street Photography classes to adults at New York University from 2002-2005. She is interested in workshops and teaching anywhere in the world.

 

Cross-Reference