William Klein took this picture in New York in 1954. The picture shows two young boys on the street. One of them, on the left, carries a gun pointing at the photographer. His face shows an aggressive expression, his attitude is violent: it looks like he is about to shoot.
The grain on the image is quite pronounced, the contrast is strong, leaving however room for shades of gray.
The tip of the gun is out of focus, due to its proximity to the camera. This creates a suggestion of movement, making the image dynamic. The arm carrying the gun take us to intermediate plane, where we find the two boy’s faces perfectly in focus.
The scene is being acted and it is clearly visible. The expression of the boy on the right is peaceful, and betrays the forced attitude of the boy carrying the weapon, which is a fake : the boys are playing. This gesture, in a kind of mise en abîme, takes a metaphorical turn: one can shoot with the camera as one shoot with a gun.
This photograph is an excellent example of Klein’s style, as he used to shoot his images close to the scene, often mixed-up with the crowd, capturing moments of high tension with great intuition and talent. That said, Klein’s images, apart from their complexity, are imbued with naturalness and spontaneity, and have the ability to capture the flow of reality as cruel as it may be.
William Klein took part in the collective exhibition Photography of the Fifties: An American Perspective, in the MoMA, in 1980.