Alan Kleinberg passed away from COVID on the Sunday afternoon of April 26, 2020. Alan was a good friend to A Journey through NYC religions and published with us his iconic photo “The Trade Towers Boys” for one of our memorial series on 911. Looking at the iconic photo (above) of kids playing on the sand dunes around the World Trade Center while it was being constructed may provoke a kind of nostalgia in one’s heart that can deepen into a tragic consciousness. There may be a yearning and mourning for more innocent times, then a rage over its destruction or a hopefulness for a restoration of joy and peace. The viewer is arrested into a mood, then a series of moods. A photo is iconic because it can stop the eyes motionless and move one through a whole range of feelings and thoughts.
Our visits to his home on Gramercy Park were wonders of grace and exploration. After a period of depression, he came to faith in Jesus late in life, an event that changed much about his life. “All my life I have been searching for a place to be,” he recalled. “O Lord, I ain’t what I want to be; O, Lord, I ain’t what I’m going to be. And Lord, I sure ain’t what I outta be, but thanks Lord that I am not what I used to be.”
In his last years, he was preparing for publication his remarkable behind-the-scenes photos of the New York City movie, theater, fashion, and nightlife scenes. From his website, you will discover Alan as a producer of short films, independent films, and music videos as well as having been a fashion photographer and photojournalist.
As producer, he was selected as nominee for a Grammy Award with David Byrne, directing the one hour Talking Heads compilation music video “Story Telling Giant” and an MTV Award for “Close to the Edit”. He was the Producer of the movie Down by Law by acclaimed independent film director Jim Jarmusch who won a Cannes Film Festival Award in 1986 and was the opening night feature film at the New York Film Festival, in 1986. His company, Big Z, was formed with the Academy Award winning film director, Zbigniew Rybczynski and created many innovative music videos for artists such as Grand Master Flash, Ricky Lee Jones, The Art of Noise, and Chuck Mangione. He did Paul Simon’s first music video.
In the field of photography, Mr. Kleinberg was a fashion photographer and photo journalist for such publications as Interview, Details, Mademoiselle, New York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New York Times.
Alan has gone home. See you later!
