Cunningham's career spanned 40 years

Bill Cunningham, humble photographer who mirrored our times for 30 years, dies at 87

Diane Lilli
Posted

I never met him yet I felt like he was a dear friend: my constant on a weekend morning and my gateway to see what changes were happening on the streets of New York.

Bill Cunningham brought me smiles for over 30 years, as a photographer and cultural anthropologist working from New York City and the pages of The New York Times. Cunningham died at 87 Saturday, and this weekend, the videos and columns I always turned to first - before breaking news or luscious dishes glistening with hope or poetry or business or any of the many, many joyful pages in the paper, now seem flat. I am going to miss Bill Cunningham.

During my most ambitious years, from 21 through 44, I spent my time with feet planted in two worlds: fashion and writing. My diverse lifelong passions are still a stronghold on my life, and just like Bill, they have always brought me to creative, wildly surprising pages.

Bill Cunningham didn’t just take pictures - he caught the drumbeat of our culture, always chronicling the constant changes of people in the most vibrant city I know: New York.

And in capturing what people wear, the also offered a snapshot of how we live, and even how we want to think of ourselves. Don’t ever underestimate fashion, especially street clothes, because this is the stuff of dreams that dare to become reality. From the beat generation in their smokey black to the hippies festooned with flowers, to the mini skirt and the bikini to the bra-less sixties when Feminism roared through every generation, to goth and punk and post-modern dresses that look more like cubism, every style beckons a new cultural awareness and movement. You are, after all, what you wear - and what better way to announce a new movement, a revolution or a whimsical yearning for the past than by donning something new, or something old, and something fabulous?

In 2009 Bill Cunningham was officially deemed a living landmark in New York City. As he rode around his beloved inspiration New York City over the decades, always in sneakers and his khaki pants, he captured the minutia of our very subconscious: from minis to maxis to bellbottoms to skinny black jeans to the street styles of Harlem that would quickly become international must have styles.

His recent videos in The New York Times are brief, and like tiny poems, surprise you with their flair, always scented with humor and awe.

Bill Cunningham, 87, remained young forever and I will miss him. He kept his eyes and heart open to everyone who passed him by, and in taking their photos, shared with the world how beautiful and moving everyone - from eccentric dressers to skateboarders - can be if you just take the time to notice.

The New York Times has videos and in-depth pieces about Bill Cunningham available for you to read or view. As a mirror of our times for decades, his life’s work will never fade.