INTRODUCTION TO NEW YORK CITY GALLERY

It’s one of the most photographed cities in the world, yet it still beacons to be shot with a camera. From the Roman-robed Statue of Liberty to the bikini clad recreators in Central Park; taxis rule the street and horse-drawn carriages fight for survival in the Park; old buildings alongside freshly raised ones; iconic Empire State and Chrysler Buildings; Hasidic Jews alongside Catholic firemen; symbols of high culture and murals of low; a reclaimed raised-train platform made trendy; and an ancient obelisk to honor empire’s might.

Hasidic Jewish Boys, Williamsburg, Brooklyn [NY55]. This group of Hasidic Jewish boys gathered with their bicycles to watch to the action after a fire truck with sirens blaring had just sped into their neighborhood. While the related image [NY57] provides a clearer story and contrasts the Irish Catholic fireman (firemen?) with the Jewish boys, I think [NY55] creates a tension since the audience to this spectacle is not at first quite sure what has created the excitement to draw these “unusually” looking American boys to gather in a way that is clearly not posed or contrived.