Thesis & Background: Your thesis about the body of work and point of view you’ve chosen to explore, as well as background about the artists that lead you to your thesis.

A Shtetl with Palm Trees: Andy Sweet & South Beach in the 1970s-80s 

Andy Sweet, born on November 9th in 1953, belonged to a Jewish family and grew up in Miami where his interest in photography started at a young age. After receiving his master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Sweet returned to Miami to work on a project with his best friend, Gary Monroe. Sweet and Monroe were two young photographers photographing the community of elderly Jewish people living in South Beach during the 1970s and 80s.

At the time, South Beach consisted of over 20,000 Jewish residents who were Holocaust survivors or former residents of colder states. This community was mostly retired Jews who were attracted to South Beach’s low costs, warm weather, and lively culture. Like the shtetls in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust, South Beach became the modern version of a shtetl for these elderly Jews.

Like the shtetls, South Beach provided a sense of community for these elder Jews. In the 1970s and early 1980s, South Beach was a place where these Jewish people made up the majority and felt safe. Most of these elderly Jews were attracted to South Beach because of its warm weather and low prices. Yet, it was the strong sense of a Jewish community that made them stay as permanent residents.

Sweet and Monroe photographed this Jewish culture that distinguished South Beach. As seen in Shtetl in the Sun, Sweet photographs the members of this Jewish community spending time outside together singing, in swimsuits, working out, lying by the pool and dancing at various parties and celebrations.

Unfortunately, on October 16th of 1982, Sweet was murdered at the age of 29 in his apartment on South Beach. Because of this, many of his photographs of the Jewish community that made up South Beach at the time went unseen. The storage facility that was responsible for his negatives lost all of them. Despite all of this, in 2006, Sweet’s sister, Ellen Sweet Moss, and her husband, Stan Hughes, discovered boxes of his prints, contact sheets, and finished prints. Because of Hugh’s background with Photoshop and photography, he was able to restore color and other features to these photographs.

As Moss and Hughes began to share Sweet’s photographs, they attracted the attention of Brett Sokol and Francesco Casale, cofounders of Letter16 Press. Sokol felt that it was important to publish these photographs in a book because they show a Jewish community in South Beach that ceases to exist, similar to the Jewish population that made up the shtetls in Europe. Many people referred to this community as the “Yiddish-speaking section of G-d’s waiting room”, yet Sokol knew that this myth was not true. Sokol used Sweet’s images to show the world that this Jewish community was filled with life and vibrancy in the 1970s and 80s, which is seen through the bright colors and high-energy of Sweet’s images.

In an interview between Brett Sokol and Lisa Newman, from The Shmooze, Sokol shared Andy Sweet’s motivations for this project. He discussed how Sweet’s images told a unique story about this vanished Jewish community in Miami Beach. Sokol felt that he had to do justice to Andy Sweet and his legacy by telling the story about this modern-day shtetl.

This Jewish community quickly diminished as there was a mass emigration of Cubans to South Beach which led to an increase of crimes and drug use. Yet, Sweet’s images preserve this community that defined South Beach before the crimes, drugs, partiers, and models took it over.

Andy focused on the active lives of these elderly Jewish people and used color to show just how vibrant their lives continued to be, even in old age.

“The way he sees people nearing the end of their life is vibrant; he loves them in the brightest colors he can magic out of the camera.” 7

Sweet took these images of ordinary people doing ordinary things. Yet, it is clear that he had an intimate relationship with his subjects and that they trusted him. In these casual scenes, the subjects do not seem bothered by Sweet. But rather, they are smiling, moving around, and living their best lives. Sweet was able to capture the vibrancy, liveliness, and happiness of the elderly Jews as they enjoyed their lives in the shtetl in the sun.

 

 

 

Aimee,

This is a great beginning for your final project. I like your title for the project as well as the introductory material you present. There are a number of things you need to consider going forward (and in editing this introduction).

First, you need to include some photographs. If you can’t find them online, please scan them from the book. They should be integrated into your text.

Second, please give Sweet’s birth date, so people don’t have to figure back from the year he died.

Third, you need to break your paragraphs into smaller ones, which work better online. For example, in the first paragraph, “At the time . . . ” could begin a new paragraph, and another new paragraph with “Sweet and Monroe . . .” Short paragraphs are easier to read online.

Fourth, “laying by the pool” should be “lying by the pool;” “seizes to exist” should be “ceases to exist.”

As you go forward with your project, you might think about how these photographs by Sweet compare with some of the other shtetl photographs that we have looked at. Aside from the fact that they are in color, how do they differ from Yudovin or Kacyzne or Vishniac? I will look forward to seeing how your final project develops.

DDM

Bright Colors, a Jewish Community, Real Relationships, & a Camera 

Methodology: What are the methods your artist uses in his/her photography? How did you attempt to see through his/her point of view by taking your own photos?

Sweet’s photographs in Shtetl in the Sun are the product of a 10-year, unfinished project that he began with Gary Monroe. With his Hasselblad, Sweet roamed the streets and hotels of South Beach while photographing and forming relationships with the elder Jewish residents. Sara Radin explains how Sweet’s sister, Ellen Sweet Moss, strongly felt that

“…it was her brother’s gentle and warm-hearted nature that helped people feel comfortable having their photos taken by him.” 1

It is clear through the intimacy of Sweet’s photographs that the people he photographed trusted him and felt comfortable around him. Many of his images were from a close point of view with the subject look straight at the camera. There was a mutual connection between Andy and the people of this Jewish community. He saw them for who they were and wanted to not only tell their story but also preserve it.

There was a sense of authenticity to Sweet’s images shown through his point of view. He took spontaneous and casual photographs of his subjects. He photographed these people as he saw them: humans. He focused on the relationships between these people as they built the Jewish community in South Beach.  Sweet’s sister, Ellen Sweet Moss, shares:

“They knew that the community was going to be gone because these people were old and they were going to be dying soon.” 1

Despite the fact that Sweet’s subjects were old and in retirement, he chose to focus on the liveliness and vibrancy of both South Beach and its residents. The bright colors and array of positive emotions seen in his images also added to his depiction of South Beach as a vibrant community. Gary Monroe, his best friend and partner in the 10-year South Beach project, recalls Andy telling him that his photographs were popular because respond to them like children to do to candy…they love the color.

The bright and saturated colors are what made Sweet’s images so unique to him. He was one of the few photographers using color film at the time. When Hughes restored Sweet’s images years later, he made sure to restore the images to their original, bright colors to keep the effect and aesthetic that Sweet had wanted.

In my photography, I captured those same bright colors that indicated the vibrancy of a community, its people, and a lifestyle. My goal was to take images of people in a very casual and natural way. Sweet never posed his subjects or made them do certain things. But rather, he wanted to capture them for who they were.

I wanted to do that same thing by taking candid, spontaneous images. I wanted to photograph people both at grocery stores and also just on the streets. I thought it was important to maintain Sweet’s perspective in my images, which was to photograph ordinary people doing ordinary things. I also wanted to take images of the architecture in my area that had a similar aesthetic to the buildings Sweet photographed in the 70s and 80s.

Aimee,

I think that the emphasis on color, bright colors, in your methodology is good. I worry that with the pandemic, you are going to have difficulty taking photographs of people on the streets. I think that you need a backup plan in case the streets are mostly empty.

You’re right about the trust that Sweet had with the older Jews whom he photographed. This he built up over time. Given the short amount of time available for this project, you may need to consider some alternative strategies.

DDM

 

 

My Shtetl with Palm Trees: Fort Lauderdale Beach 

Photos & Analysis: Presentation of your own photographs inspired by that point of view. Text articulating what taking your own pictures taught you about the photographer’s point of view and its relevance. What is liberating about the point of view you’ve chosen to explore? How does it challenge you to look at the world differently?

Similar to ethnographic Jewish photographers, Sweet photographed a modern-day shtetl that no longer exists. Ethnography preserves the idea of Jewish communities where Jews make up the majority of the population and have control over the business within the community. Prior to World War II, Zalman Kaplan photographed Szczuczyn, Poland, which at the time was the location of the shtetl he lived in. Kaplan’s ethnographic eye gave viewers a look into the everyday, private lives of Jews residing in this shtetl. Because he was a resident of the shtetl, he had a personal connection with his subjects and that intimacy is clear in his photographs.

“These pictures and recollections of Szczuczyn invite us to glimpse something of a vibrant community that has passed and to participate in the special challenges as well as the pleasure of its remembrance.” 8

Sweet, like Kaplan, used an ethnographic eye to photograph the elderly Jewish community in Miami Beach in the 1970s-80s. With Sweet and this community being gone, his photographs are some of the few things left that preserve this vanished Jewish community. These images capture a lost culture in South Beach that we will never see again.

Sweet’s images give viewers a close look into the daily lives and relationships of these elderly Jews. Because of his close relationship with the residents, Sweet was able to capture intimate photos. As Cate McQuaid said,

“In these color-drenched photos, the subjects seem to share affection with the man behind the camera.” 6

As a documentary and street photographer, Andy Sweet focused on photographing the community around him in a natural way. With a carefree spirit and on a daily basis, Sweet would walk around Miami Beach photographing the people, architecture, and nature that made up this community. Sweet’s use of bright, over-drenched colors helps show the vibrancy of both the elderly Jewish residents and the architecture that surrounded them. To put it simply, Cate McQuaid explains,

“He worked at a time when color documentary photography was not quite trusted. And he was shooting old people, whose dignity is often best served in black-and-white. But he was looking for humanity more than dignity.” 6

Sweet show the humanity of an elder community through their active lives and close-knit relationships. Despite stereotypes associated with age, these elderly Jews spent their days singing, laughing, dancing, and walking around South Beach while enjoying each other’s company and the bright sun. Sweet made sure to capture the vibrancy of this community by using vibrant colors.

When taking my own images, I faced many challenges because of Covid-19. Obviously, I was not able to photograph an elderly community for safety reasons. I was also not able to get too close to my subjects and create that sense of intimacy seen in Sweet’s photographs. I also wanted to take some photographs in grocery stores but felt that it was not appropriate to spend unnecessary time in crowded public areas. Because of this, I chose to take my photographs in a natural, open setting.

Despite these obstacles, I knew I wanted to focus on bright colors and try to portray intimacy in my own way. Because of social distancing recommendations, I was not able to get close to my subjects but rather I zoomed in on my camera to try to create the same effect.

Despite my efforts, I did not fully capture that same intimacy that Sweet did. The clear connection between Sweet and his subjects creates a warm feeling. Sweet’s subjects look directly at the camera and feel very comfortable around him. Although I could not create this same effect, I tried my best to create some type of intimacy with my subjects by zooming in on the images.

I live walking distance from Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida so I knew I had to take advantage of this opportunity. Similar to the Miami Beach that Sweet photographed, Fort Lauderdale’s beach is filled with vibrant skies, water, restaurants, hotels, and people.

Although there is not a defined Jewish community here, with the Covid-19 restrictions, I felt as if photographing the beach was the best and the closest way I could recreate Sweet’s aesthetic and style. Even though the beaches were closed, people were still walking, running, and relaxing on the sidewalks/streets, just like the elderly Jewish community in Miami Beach. And most importantly, the sun was still shining.

Sweet photographed ordinary people doing ordinary things. He never asked his subjects to pose in a certain way or displace a certain facial expression. Sweet did not force his subjects to smile, instead, they naturally smiled for him. Ed Chrisitan explains,

“Andy didn’t shoot a lot of film, and once he chose his shot, a second take was rare.” 5

Like Sweet, I wanted to take spontaneous, candid photographs. To do so, I walked on the beach and just tried to capture all of the colors around me. I did not ask anyone to pose for me but rather I tried to take casual snapshots. To really imitate the vibrancy of Sweet’s images, I also edited the images and increased the saturation to create that same over-saturated look.

 

Selected Photos:

I chose these images as my selected photographs because I believe they best embody Sweet’s aesthetic. In the 1970s-80s, South Beach consisted of palm trees, bright buildings, and a vibrant Jewish community. These bright photos show similar features and highlight the bright skies, palm trees, hotels, and clothing of Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Sweet showed the active lives on this elderly Jewish community so I thought it was important to photograph a similar active community, which is why I included the photograph of the man running along the beach. The image of the turquoise and yellow hotel really embodies the elements of Sweet’s photography. He photographed various hotels in South Beach as many of his subjects lived in these hotels. Sweet also used a very similar color scheme in his images of South Beach, highlighting the bright turquoise and yellow colors. Lauren Groff writes in the introduction for Sweet’s photobook,

“Andy saw the potential in color, the addictive beauty of it, the way it undermined conventional aesthetic ideas and somehow spiritually matched the sun-drenched, turquoise-and-yellow, wildly floral setting.” 7

The image of the piercing blue water contrasted by the vivid yellow/orange barriers creates that same vibrant, bright-colored effect seen in Sweet’s images. The clear blue sky and water are similar to the sky and water in Sweet’s photographs of Miami Beach. The clear water and skies along with the bright sun are what attracted the elderly Jews to Miami Beach in the 1970s-80s. For that reason, I thought it was important to capture those same aspects of Fort Lauderdale Beach.

 

 

Slideshow 1: My images

Photos

Slideshow 2: Andy Sweet’s images from Shtetl in the Sun
Photos

The above slideshows show my images, in slideshow 1, that were inspired by Andy Sweet’s images, in slideshow 2. I wanted to replicate the bright and oversaturated colors from Sweet’s images of South Beach. My goal was to tell a story with my slideshow by showing similar things to what one would see when walking around South Beach in the 1970s-80s. I tried to include similar colors and sequences of events. There are lots of bright colors from the colors of the water, clothing, architecture, and hotels. My images replicate the vibrant, active lives of the Jewish elderly community of Miami Beach. I photographed people relaxing, walking, running, and biking along the beach. Sweet used to walk around South Beach and just photograph everything around him. Consequently, I did the same. I walked around Fort Lauderdale beach and photographed the community around me.

Aimee,

You’ve developed an excellent alternative to Sweet’s photographs that builds upon the color and site specific character of Miami Beach in the 1970s. What you’ve written is thoughtful and pulls together material about shtetl photography from Eastern Europe with the shtetl imagery of late 20th century Miami Beach. Your discussion of the yellow and turquoise hotel is great and the photograph really works as well.

I think that the work-around of the slide show is OK, but doesn’t really allow for the comparisons. I would suggest changing the photograph you have of the guy in shorts for the person sitting on the ledge.

You’ve done a great job with these photographs, working with color. The added saturation really is effective in conveying the mood and intensity of Sweet’s style of photography.

DDM

Conclusion: Did you come to understand your Jewish photographer differently after taking your own photos? What did you learn about your thesis?

Remembering the Shtetl in the Sun 

In one sentence, Garry Monroe is able to acknowledge the importance of both his and Sweet’s photography in South Beach during the 1970s-80s.

“Andy and I knew, even in the moment, that this unique cultural outpost mattered, that there was something remarkable about the time, the place, and the people.” 9

Monroe and Sweet photographed this modern-day shtetl that ceases to exist. They devoted their lives to photographing this community. They saw something in this community that others did not. Sweet was able to recognize that this unique community would not last forever. Miami Beach is now a tourist attraction with many young people and a party scene atmosphere. One would never know that this community used to be filled with elder Jews. These hotels were their homes. These beaches were where they spent their days playing games, singing, laughing, and relaxing together.

“The clubs and bars in the hotel lobbies of today were makeshift synagogues just a generation ago, where orthodox Jewish men prayed twice daily.” 9

Rather than focusing on their age, Sweet photographed the high-energy, vibrant lives of these elderly Jews.

“…Jewish life, not Jewish death.” 8

It is clear that he cared about the people that he photographed. The image to the right shows Sweet hanging out with these people who he photographed. He had real, intimate relationships with the people of this community. They became his family.

When taking my own photographs, I really struggled with replicating this intimacy that was seen in all of Sweet’s images. Although he just photographed his surroundings, it obvious that these elder Jews trusted him and felt comfortable around him. He spent his days with these people. Since I photographed strangers, I was not able to establish this same connection with my subjects.

“Ordinary people doing ordinary things — sitting in a folding plastic chair on an Art Deco hotel porch, walking along a sun-bleached, nearly empty boulevard” 10

I learned many things from my research on Andy Sweet and my observations of his photographs. The first, and arguably most important, lesson was the importance of photographing Jewish communities.

With everything that Jews have and continue to face, they deserve to be remembered. Sweet’s images allow us to remember a community that probably would have been forgotten if it wasn’t for his images.

Secondly, Sweet showed the vibrant, positive lives of these elder Jews. Especially today, there are many stigmas and stereotypes regarding elder communities. Yet, Sweet broke down all of these by showcasing the liveliness of this elder community. From working out on the beach to partying on New Years, it is clear that these elderly Jews lived their lives to the fullest.

Sweet was not afraid to break the rules of photography. Despite the fact that color photography was seen as amateur, Sweet still chose to take color photographs. He always stayed true to himself.

He felt that it was important to photograph this community in color. The bright colors further emphasize the vibrancy of this community. He also photographed in the middle of the day, even though many photographers think the light is the worst at that time. The middle of the day was when he spent the most time with these people.  Sweet just wanted to photograph this community for what it is. He didn’t need to follow any fancy rules.

“He followed no rules, happily photographing in midday light. He was not given to deliberation; he didn’t need to be, as he was certain, trusting his instincts each time he released his Hasselblad’s shutter.” 9

Sweet has taught me how to see the positivity and good things in life. There is no magic formula or secret to his work. Simply, he photographed ordinary people doing ordinary things. Yet, these ordinary things brought so much happiness to them. These ordinary things brought these Jews together and allowed them to form a community in Miami Beach.

Just like Andy Sweet, everyone should appreciate the little things in life. It is these little things that make us smile.

 

 

 

Aimee,

Lovely conclusion. Sweet and Monroe were not the only ones who photographed elderly Jews on Miami Beach but they were the first and were natives to the community. In the mid-1980s Richard Nagler from California came to Miami Beach to photograph elderly Jews and he published his photos as My Love Affair with Miami Beach. Mary Ellen Mark also came down from Philadelphia in the early 1980s and Gay Block came from Texas at the same time and also photographed. Each of these Jewish photographers had a slightly different approach and if you really like Sweet’s book, you might want to compare it to Nagler and to the photographs of Mark and Block.

Please be sure to identify all of the photographs that are Sweet’s when you prepare the final project.

DDM

Sources: List of all your sources with hyperlinks. Be sure to separate photo sources from written research sources.

Footnotes:

1. Radin, Sara. “Photographing the Vibrant, Disappearing Community of Elderly Jews in 1970s South Beach.” Document , 29 Mar. 2019.

<https://www.documentjournal.com/2019/03/photographing-the-vibrant-disappearing-community-of-elderly-jews-in-1970s-south-beach/>

2. Mcdonald, Leah. “Unearthed Pictures Capture the Elderly Jewish Community in South Beach.” Daily Mail Online, 10 Mar. 2019,

<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6792139/Unearthed-pictures-capture-elderly-Jewish-community-Palm-Beach.html>

3. Carmona, Sergio. “Film about Jewish Retirees in 1970s Miami Beach Making World Premiere.” Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2018.

<https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/news/miami-dade/fl-jjdc-film-0110-20180105-story.html>

4. Newman, Lisa, and Brett Sokol. “Yiddish Book Center.” Yiddish Book Center, 21 Nov. 2019.

<https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/language-literature-culture/the-shmooze/237-shtetl-sun-andy-sweets-south-beach-1977-1980>

5. “Andy Sweet.” The Betsy Hotel South Beach, 2019.

<https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/explore/arts-culture/exhibitions/andy-sweet>

6. McQuaid, Cate. “Like a Time Capsule, 1970s Photos Revel in Miami Beach’s Tight-Knit Community of Jewish Retirees – The Boston Globe.” The Boston Globe, Boston Globe Media Partners, 4 Dec. 2019.

<https://www.bostonglobe.com/2019/12/04/arts/like-time-capsule-1970s-photos-revel-miami-beachs-tight-knit-community-jewish-retirees/>

7. Groff, Lauren. “The Brightest Still The Fleetest.” Oxford American, 5 July 2016.

<https://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/899-the-brightest-still-the-fleetest>

8. Jeffrey Shandler, “Szcuzucyn: A Shtetl Through a Photographer’s Eye,” in Lives Remembered, ed. Louis Levine (2002), 19-28.

9. Monroe, Gary. “Andy Sweet: New Year’s Eve Parties on the Old South Beach.” The Miami Rail, 2015.

<miamirail.org/fall-2015/andy-sweet-new-years-eve-parties-on-the-old-south-beach/.>

10. Treaster, Joseph. “The Palmy Days of a South Beach Shtetl.” The New York Times, The New York Times Company, 28 Feb. 2019,.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/arts/design/shtetl-in-the-sun-south-beach.html>

Images:

Sweet, Andy, et al. Shtetl in the Sun: Andy Sweets South Beach 1977-1980. Edited by Brett Sokol, Letter16 Press, 2018.