Jeff Mermelstein | What if Jeff were a Butterfly?

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of photography at Leica Store and Gallery Meatpacking with our electrifying Saturday Morning series, Behind the Binding!

Join us for invigorating conversations with renowned photographer Jeff Mermelstein, unraveling the stories behind his captivating works and acclaimed book.

Programming begins promptly at 11:00 AM.

Following the talk, indulge in signed books, bagels, and brewed coffee with the artist!

Seating is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot in advance!

Jeff Mermelstin

What if Jeff were a Butterfly?

VOID Publishing

Jeff Mermelstein has spent decades photographing life on the streets of New York. In this book, he turns the camera inward, beginning with flowers: perhaps the most photographed subject in history, and possibly the most avoided (for that very reason). From there, the work unfolds through pages of journals, family snapshots, phone notes, and previously unseen prints, drawn from an intimate investigation of Jeff’s archive and personal memorabilia. Together, they form a quiet portrait of attention, finding beauty in the everyday and meaning in the small things that make up a life.

This book was born from over two hundred images of flowers—an unexpected output for Jeff Mermelstein has been making photographs on the streets of New York for decades. Mermelstein brought the photographs to Void with the idea of making them into a book. During discussions, Mermelstein’s compulsion to photograph flowers was likened to the predilections of a butterfly. The book’s title and content evolved both from this idea and the recognition of the similarity between the behaviour of winged insects and those who photograph on the street. Both moving quickly and erratically from one attractive thing to the next, albeit from street corner to street corner or from flower to flower. The quickness of observing, landing, and leaving.

“I've dug into my archive boxes to make a collage, a timeline that's not a line. Here's more of my story, including pictures and dangling words to help convey an urgent sense of searching for surprise. Family roots permeate and brighten the weave. New flower pictures hold the balance with beauty. My wish is that this book is not finished.” - Jeff Mermelstein

Over the course of a year, Mermelstein mined his personal archives. He searched for lost materials and unearthed old, unpublished photographs to visually represent this butterfly-like behaviour. He found small, quiet, previously overlooked moments in images which could collectively accumulate meaning. He gathered images of flowers photographed on the hoof, pages from old journals, ancient snapshots of family, iPhone photos of thoughts, memories and passing ideas—all rough, spontaneous and preserved without editing. The creation of the book became a playful collaboration, constructing a metaphorical shoebox of re-found discoveries to form Mermelstein’s first introspective body of work, a portal to his inner-life.

Mermelstein’s photographs are known for being fast, funny and sharp—a reputation built from nearly 50 years of photographing on the street. He notices things that most people overlook and captures these fleeting moments. The works in the book are sequenced and paired with no discernible hierarchy nor narrative to echo Mermelstein’s sharp humour with both similarities and juxtapositions of colour, form and composition.

Jeff Mermelstein was born in 1957 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and studied at Rutgers College and the International Center of Photography. His career combines personal photographs with assignments for publications such as LIFE, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine. In the tradition of other photographers such as Helen Levitt, he has photographed street life in New York City extensively as well as September 11th and its aftermath.

His works are held by institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago; the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House; and the New York Public Library. He has received the Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer’s Fellowship and the European Publishers Award for Photography. Mermelstein has taught at the International Center of Photography since 1988.

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