Four decades of Janette Beckman's evocative street photography will be on display until 18 April 2027 at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). The exhibition, titled Rebels + Icons: The Photography of Janette Beckman, features over 700 archival and newly captured images. Beckman is renowned for her portraits of musical legends like Salt-N-Pepa and Run-DMC, as well as her distinctive approach to street photography that captures the raw energy of New York City.
Wandering the Ever-Changing Streets
Beckman’s work documents the vibrant diversity of New York from the 1990s to the present day. She recalls, 'In the 1990s I became obsessed with wandering the ever-changing New York streets, with my Hasselblad camera.' Her process involves taking the train to random stops, exploring unfamiliar neighborhoods, and approaching subjects spontaneously. 'I took the train to random stops. I got out in unfamiliar neighborhoods, spot someone to photograph, approach them, ask if I could take a photo,' she explains.
Iconic Images and Cultural Moments
The exhibit includes a wide array of photographs capturing New York's cultural fabric. Among them are portraits of brothers Danny and Carlos Rosa at the Puerto Rican Day parade in 1995, Irish step dancers at the St Patrick's Day parade in 1996, and Winston playing the lottery in Brooklyn in 1994. More recent works include Newspaper sock, Midtown, 2025 and Girl, Coney Island, Brooklyn, 2024. Beckman also captured the Judah family boxers outside Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn in 2000, Minnie in her Easter hat in Harlem in 2015, and Robin selling the NY Post on Broad Street in 1994.
Beckman reflects on the authenticity of New York in the 1990s: 'People were “real” in your face, genuine. New York had “flava”, folks from all over the world, music played loud everywhere, police sirens, carhorns, crazy people.' Her images also include Brooklyn girls in 1995, a barbershop in Brownsville in 2009, a kid with a boom box on the Lower East Side in 1992, and street basketball players Julian and Damian in the West Village in 1995. Other highlights feature St Benedick’s Fife & Drum Corps at the St Patrick's Day parade in 1996, sisters at the Puerto Rican Day parade in 2017, a gentleman on 5th Avenue in 2017, and the New York Yankees World Series ticker-tape parade in 2009.
Continuing the Legacy
Today, Beckman continues to document New York City streets and teaches a street portrait class at the School of Visual Arts. 'These days I am still out on the streets documenting New York City and I teach a street portrait class at the School of Visual Arts,' she says. The MoPOP exhibit offers a comprehensive look at her career, celebrating her ability to capture the spirit of New York and its people.
