Matt Weber "New New York", (Street photography), signs, Times Square, Women of New York

“Taliban Attacks U.S.”

TimesSq-TALIBAN-matt-weberI saw the showgirl in bodypaint and then saw Kenny Powers the redneck asshole (Only on HBO) throwing around what I assumed were $100 bills on a giant billboard. A silly image showing America in some of its more over the top ways. I did not see the zipper and its message about the Taliban. The irony is that what I had just photographed were exactly the type of things which would make the Taliban want to attack us…

©Matt Weber

Matt Weber (Street photography), Color, Coney Island, signs, Women of New York

“Jesus Freak” 2010

I don’t know where to start. It’s 5/21/11 and supposedly the world is about to end. I’ve heard first hand from one of these lunatics that there’s only room for 200,000,000 souls in heaven. That’s like 3% of the people on earth. Talking to this lost soul for a few minutes, I heard the standard rhetoric: We are all sinners and must repent or burn forever. I asked her if the cigarette lighter I stole from Woolworth’s was a big enough sin to be burned, and she said, yes! I asked if “God doesn’t recognize the difference between stealing a 19¢ lighter when I was ten, and maybe stealing billions of dollars like Bernie Madoff?” She said no…All sins are sins and must be repented for. God doesn’t play favorites between those who are starving and steal an apple, and those who are filthy rich and steal someone’s life savings! OK, I walk away as usual, unable to make a single point as she kept shouting how I was going to burn…She is probably praying up real good right now and when the world doesn’t end, I wonder if she’ll feel any relief, or disappointment that she didn’t get to meet Jesus. I think that this Mr. Camping schmuck is really evil and shouldn’t have been given the time of day by the press. Of course he spent over 100 million dollars spreading his doomsday message. Money talks and you know what walks. I feel bad for the millions of people who have actually been preparing for the end and feeling extremely scared for the past week or so. I’ve been at gunpoint several times and know how frightening it can be. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone…

All Photos © Matt Weber

Matt Weber (Street photography), The Urban Prisoner, Urban Landscape

“Incoming” 1989

When I took this picture and named it “Incoming” for obvious reasons, I never expected it to become prophetic. If I do an exhibit, the temptation to place this image before the pictures I took on 9/11 is fairly strong. I don’t know if I want to post my pictures of the massacre. I realize that they are the most historically significant pictures I am likely to take. There’s something very strange about fielding compliments about pictures that had such terrible content. I have had to print certain images from that day, and stuck alone in my darkroom, I sometimes get overwhelmed.

I lost a close friend because of September 11th. He thought that we got what we deserved that day. I am well aware of our country’s past and I am very ashamed of certain parts of our history, but…

September 11th was not a MILITARY battle ending in victory for the demented “jihaders”, it was a fuckin’ massacre, plain and simple…

All Photos © Matt Weber