Peter Black Levin

Peter Black, Selwyn Toogood, Levin, 1981

Peter Black was one of a number of photographers who came to prominence in the mid- to late 1970s due to the efforts of Photoforum and its magazine – arguably the most important New Zealand photographic publication. Black’s early work was primarily street photography, shots of things he saw when wandering.

Though this may seem simple, it is surprisingly hard to get images as strong as Black’s. This photograph will elicit a similar response from generations of New Zealanders. Although it shows a hotel dining room the real subject of this picture, as the title suggests, is the man on the television, the legendary Selwyn Toogood.