Mr. Gilden, it was recently commented that every time someone makes photos with a Leica and calls it “street photography,” they should have to pay you five dollars. What do you think of that?
(Laughs) Oh, I don't believe that at all! That’s in jest! But so many people simply go into the street with their camera, and they call themselves a street photographer. I take a little offense to that because they’re often not very good. For me, I’m 78 years old now, I’ve been in the street with my camera for almost 60 years — even longer without a camera, even as a child I was out there playing ball as a kid in Brooklyn and Queens. I think to be a street photographer, you have to be outside, you feel the dirt, you smell the street, it’s about more than just a style, it’s about how you work.
But you would agree that you’re a pioneer of this photography genre?
Well, I think I'm very good. I know I'm very good. I worked very hard in the beginning to define my own style; I looked at all different kinds of magazines, and I went to all different kinds of photography shows to see what I liked, what I didn't like. And that's how I learned how I wanted a photograph to look. I ended up taking a photo course at night while studying to be an actor during the day. Eventually I bought a Nikon, and that was it, I was hooked. I stopped acting and just took photographs, doing whatever jobs I had to in order to support myself.
“You can’t just start taking pictures anywhere... I’ve had a street life, so I have good bedside manner about it.”
Do you remember the first photo you created that spoke to the kind of up-close style you’re known for today?
One of the first pictures I took was in Coney Island, and there's a guy in the background with his arms up, and two older ladies in the foreground talking. That was the first picture of mine I thought that had any artistic credibility.
Do you think those ladies remember being photographed by you? Apparently you consider all your photos as capturing your day to day encounters; I wonder if it feels that way for them.
It’s an interesting question, because I was using a 35-millimeter lens, so I wasn't close to them! But the guy behind the women, who you don’t really even see very clearly in the photo, you know, he was giving me a hard time about taking his picture. So, I bet he remembers. I had to argue with him that he was barely in the picture. I’ve had to be pretty good at sticking up for myself. You have to be smart about it when you’re taking a photo on the street. You know, you go into areas with a lot of addicts or homeless people on the street, you can’t just start taking pictures there. I’ve had a street life, so I have good bedside manner about it. A lot of my portraits, I’ve asked and been given permission to take the photo. People like to be photographed, for the most part.
Really? Because it’s often written that you sneak up on unsuspecting subjects in order to surprise them. One critic even called it an attempt to dehumanize your subjects.
Nah, that's bullshit. Just because you're close up, that doesn't mean that you’re dehumanizing. I mean, I'm not changing anything. That's how the people look. I don’t add anything. I remember photographing this guy in the East Midlands in England, and his whole face was burned. I said to the guy, “Listen, can I take a photograph of your face?” And he said yes. Just because this person has a physical defect, whether it's by birth or accident, why does that mean I shouldn’t take his photo? He was comfortable with it. I have the courage to ask to do it, so I do it. I photograph things and people that interest me, simple as that. That's why the subjects that I choose, they may not be pretty, but to me, they're beautiful.
“I've never taken the perfect picture, I don't know anybody who has!”
Maybe that’s how you know you’re doing something right — when it’s getting under people’s skin?
Criticism always motivates me! I'm a competitor. I don't do things because of them, I don't have to prove anything, but it just does give me motivation, you know, my uncle used to say: “When they stop talking about you, then you have to worry.” (Laughs) My critics I think would be happy if I just gave up and got old and died, but I’m not doing that, despite all the nasty things that are said about me. It drives you, but I don’t go to bed thinking about it, put it that way.
What else is motivating you these days?
Well, for example, I've never taken the perfect picture, I don't know anybody who has! I take my hat off to the people who did wonderful work over the years, and I think I’ve taken some great photos, some iconic ones… But you're only as good as what you do today, so that’s what’s motivating me these days. Not every time you click the shutter does it result in a good photo, so I think you also have to learn as you go along. As I get older, my style has to change a little bit because it is very dynamic, and these days, I bend a little slower and I’m not as fast as I used to be.
Does it worry you that you’re slowing down? Or do you think your best art years are still to come?
I'm not a fuddy duddy, my pictures are very contemporary, my style is very dynamic. I'm alive. I won't say I’m in my prime, but I think what you lose in physicality, if you're smart, you gain in experience. I realized all of my limitations as I got older, so like I said, I have to make changes in how my pictures look. And once I can't do it anymore, I'll stop. I don't want to be like the boxer who is this world champion who comes back and he gets knocked out. So I’ll keep taking photos as long as I can, and as long as I do them well.