Andre D. Wagner Explained

Andre D. Wagner (born 1986) is an American photographer, living in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York.^[1] His black and white street and documentary style photographs^[2] primarily depict African Americans living in Brooklyn.^[3]

Life and work

Wagner was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1986.^[4] He gained a BA in Social Work from Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa in 2010.^[4] In 2011^[5] he moved from Omaha to Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York^[6] to study for a master's degree in social work.^[7]

A review by Leah Ollman in the Los Angeles Times described Wagner as practising "a quiet, lyrical kind of humanism that comes straight out of the traditions of mid-20th-century street photography and the social documentary photo-essay."^[8] He primarily photographs African Americans living in Brooklyn,^[8] but also elsewhere in New York City. His book Here For The Ride (2017) documents people on the New York City Subway,^{[9] [10]} between 2013 and 2016.^[11]

Wagner has undertaken commissions for Vogue, ESPN, New York magazine and The New York Times,^[7] and created the promotional images for the film Queen & Slim (2019). In August 2020 he was made one of four Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, a year long civic art program that enables artists "to propose and implement creative solutions to pressing civic challenges."^[12]

He uses a Leica M6 camera with a 28 mm wide-angle lens and Kodak Tri-X black and white film,^[5] and makes his own prints.^[7]

Publications

Books of work by Wagner

• Black Boys. Copenhagen: Creative Future, 2013.
• The Purist Vol. 1. New York City: self-published, 2014.^[13]
• Here For The Ride. Copenhagen: Creative Future, 2017. With an introduction by Miles Hodges. Contains an insert with an essay by Zun Lee ("The Quiet Power of the Quotidian"), an interview with Wagner, and photographs. Edition of 750 copies.^{[14] [15]}

Other publications by Wagner

• The Purist – Parades Vol. 2. New York City: self-published, 2015. Newspaper format.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• American Survey Pt. 2 Tell It Like It Is, Papillion Art, Los Angeles, California, 2015^{[2] [8] [16]}

Group exhibitions

• Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 2019^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: James. Estrin. 2020-11-01. Photographing New York's Streets, Where 'Everything Feels New'. 15 September 2016. The New York Times.
2. Web site: 2020-11-02. Andre D. Wagner's Street Photos of Life in Brooklyn. petapixel.com.
3. News: 2020-11-01. Capturing diversity of US black experience. BBC.
4. Web site: 2020-11-01. Andre D. Wagner and the analogue photographs of the streets of NYC. 17 October 2018. c41magazine.com.
5. Web site: Marc. Pitzke. 2020-11-02. New York: Fotograf André Wagner dokumentiert schwarzes Brooklyn - Der Spiegel - Kultur. Der Spiegel (news website).
6. News: Andre. Wagner. Joanna. Nikas. Eve. Lyons. 2020-11-02. Capturing Love, the Brooklyn Way (Published 2017). The New York Times. 27 May 2017. 0362-4331.
7. Web site: 2020-11-01. Photographer Andre D. Wagner on chance, chemistry and community. 24 March 2020. Creative Review.
8. Web site: 2020-11-01. Review: Andre D. Wagner's stirring photographs tell it like it is. 5 June 2015. Los Angeles Times.
9. Web site: Andrew. Boryga. 2020-11-02. Here for the Ride: Andre D. Wagner’s Subway Photographs. 21 February 2018. The Paris Review.
10. Web site: 2020-11-01. Photographer Spends Years Documenting His Daily Commute on the New York Subway. 8 October 2017. My Modern Met.
11. Web site: Alice. Newell-Hanson. 2020-11-02. striking photographs of new yorkers on the subway. 9 October 2017.
12. Web site: Nadja. Sayej. 2020-11-03. New York Announces Latest Public Art Projects: "Artists Are Creative Problem Solvers.". Forbes.
13. Web site: Jack. Sommer. 2020-11-01. 20 raw images from the streets of New York. Business Insider.
14. Web site: 2020-11-02. Here For The Ride. Andre D. Wagner.
15. Web site: 2020-11-02. Take the J Train. 17 January 2018. Aperture.
16. Web site: 2020-11-02. American Survey Pt: II 'Tell It Like It Is' - Photo Gallery - Papillion. www.papillionart.com.
17. Web site: 2020-11-01. Andre Wagner. Smithsonian Institution.