When I was a kid in New York, long before saturation sports coverage, the world heavyweight championship was, with the baseball World Series, the great national event. — William Klein Copy Share Image
I didn't really know who Cassius Clay was. I just wanted to show America through a heavyweight championship fight. Ever since my childhood, I'd been fascinated by the way the whole country becomes polarised around this event. — William Klein Copy Share Image
I always thought I was going to be an artist. I used to draw, and I would read Russian novels until 3 or 4… — William Klein Copy Share Image
I was 24 years old at the time. I had no real notion of what photography was about. I had no training. By accident,… — William Klein Copy Share Image
I have always done the opposite of what I was trained to do... Having little technical background, I became a photographer. Adopting a machine,… — William Klein Copy Share Image
My father was like Willy Loman, you know: he never really made it - and he was from a family where there were people… — William Klein Copy Share Image
My father was convinced that America was the greatest place in the world. I'm afraid I didn't have the family I would have dreamed… — William Klein Copy Share Image
This is supposed to be the Big Apple, with neighborhoods where the houses are all good-looking and the skyscrapers and everything. But to me,… — William Klein Copy Share Image
I feel like I'm doing something that's worthwhile. I feel like I'm showing something other people haven't shown. I don't get to talk to… — William Klein Copy Share Image
The kinetic quality of New York, the kids, dirt, madness - I tried to find a photographic style that would come close to it.… — William Klein Copy Share Image
In America, kids would go to college and get out and buy a second-hand car and go across the country and discover America. I… — William Klein Copy Share Image
Sometimes, I'd take shots without aiming, just to see what happened. I'd rush into crowds - bang! bang! ... It must be close to… — William Klein Copy Share Image
My way of living and working is that I'll do my thing. I went from one thing to another. That annoyed people. They didn't… — William Klein Copy Share Image
