Milton Rogovin, Social Documentary Photographer
BUFFALO NEWS, by Colin Dabkowski
Dec. 29th, 2011
"The year began sadly when, on January 18, legendary documentary photographer Milton Rogovin died at age 101. His passing was noted across the country, as fans of Rogovin's unflinching portraits of working-class people around the world remembered the photographer's skill, his passion and his unwavering dedication to the less fortunate members of society."
Social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin has been likened to the great social documentary photographers of the 19th and 20th Centuries, Lewis Hine and Jacob Riis. Milton, who lived to be 101 years old, dedicated his lifetime to creating photographs that speak of the humanity of working people, the poor and the forgotten ones. Milton's photographs are a part of the documentary photography collections of the Library of Congress, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Center for Creative Photography and other distinguished institutions around the world.
The Rich Have Their Own Photographers
The award winning documentary film, "The Rich have Their Own Photographers," had its debut at the Lincoln Center with Pete Seeger as MC and is now finally available for purchase in the Rogovin Store »
In 1957, Milton Rogovin was declared “The Top Communist in Buffalo”. In reality, he was an optometrist actively registering Black voters. Refusing to be silenced, he found a new political voice - a camera. He began documenting Buffalo’s poorest and working classes, and eventually, the world’s. Collaborating with Pablo Neruda and others at the forefront of justice movements, documenting those he considers, “the Forgotten Ones”. Through his photographs, Rogovin depicts the extreme inequalities that exist and conveys that message through beautiful works of art. For Rogovin, his prints are his protests; his only concern is the fight for social justice.
DVD, 60 min., Ezra Bookstein filmmaker, Telling Image Films
On December 27th, 2009, this film was aired for the first time on television on WNED Buffalo/Toronto. This powerful documentary should be shown across the nation! Please join the campaign to bring Milton's film to your PBS station.
Click here to take action and to support this grass roots effort!
A Blacklisted Photographer who Took to the Streets, Weekend Edition Saturday - NPR, January 22, 2011
A special feature on Milton in the New York Times, LENS blog
Click to download article.
The People V. the Optometrist, by Arthur Bleich, Rangefinder Magazine for Professional Photographers, January 2010
The NY Times Lens Blog features Milton with numerous photographs from his various series, upcoming celebrations, new publications, the new Picture Man: The Poetry of Photographer Milton Rogovin film, his website and more. Published August 9, 2009.
Read more about Milton's current exhibitions and awards »
Accolades for film, "Picture Man"
We are very pleased to announce the film "Picture Man the Poetry of Photographer Milton Rogovin" has won 1st prize for short documentaries in the Bayou City Inspirational Film Festival.
Congratulations to the star of the show, Milton Rogovin, and the film's crew: Sharon Karp (Director/Editor), Jerri Zbiral (Production Managerl, Mark Rogovin (Producer), Isadore Bleckman (Cinematography), and Sheera Bleckman (Assistant Editor).
The festival is presented by the PROGRESS Arts Group Inc., a non-profit charitable arts and education organization whose mission is to educate and create opportunities through the arts - worldwide.
About this Site
This web site is put together by the family of Anne and Milton Rogovin. The site's primary function is to show the depth of the photography of our father and to pursue educational projects based on the photography. Besides these images being shown in museums and galleries, Milton and Anne expressed a strong desire that these photographs "help to feed and strengthen" the communities where the images were taken.