William Klein

Moscou + Klein

William Klein

born in 1926 in New York (United States)

"At the time, I wanted to make a book on Moscow and, as an American during the Cold War, I thought I'd encounter some problems. I was wrong, I never ran into any trouble. People were not used to seeing someone with a camera walking amongst them."Read more

William Klein created an exceptional portrait of Moscow, a city at the heart of an ethnically diverse empire. Unlike New Yorkers or Italians, Muscovites, startled by the sight of someone with a camera, didn’t seem in control of their behavior in front of the lens. The wide-angle used by Klein further accentuated the impression that only the centermost character is aware of the photographer's presence. Fooled, the other passersby did not realize that they too were featured in the picture.

William Klein often speaks of this work as an example of the relationships that exists between a photographer and its subjects.

Moscow was published the same year as Tokyo (1964) and in three countries: Japan (Zokeisha publishers), France (Delpire) and Germany (Die Zeit).