Here is a photographer’s
look at New York City that will defy your
skills at recognizing landmarks. Instead
of skylines, buildings and street scenes
the artist photographs small objects and
scenes in detail. He uses a digital camera
to capture images and computer software
to enhance them where necessary. The artist,
identifying himself only as Robert, is
a recently arrived resident and has become
intrigued with the unexpected “world
right under our noses”.
The
web site is very small with four sections each containing
a dozen or less thumbnail images. A click on any brings
a full size picture. No complex descriptions are provided,
just a few words about the picture from the artist.
Very few. Therein lies the beauty of the collection.
No matter if you can’t recognize the object you
will see the beauty inherent in its form, texture or
colors.
What is there to
say about a shot of a small piece of iron railing “in need of some attention”?
The black paint is well mottled and chipped showing
the earthy red rust underneath. The rail segment
is attached to a distressed white wrought iron
fence at the juncture of an arc of iron. If you
lived in the building you might touch the rail
daily without seeing the blend of color, texture
and form the picture presents.
The photography could be captured in any great
city of the world that had survived a few centuries.
But knowing these images are of New York helps
build a mental image about the 7 million people
that live there and what they see and feel every
day. To me there is a surprise within each picture
the artist presents as it evokes an emotional response
from deep within my memory. Strange is the connection
he has forged between a picture and a viewer. Especially
when the picture might be of a cardboard coffee
cup sitting on a decaying brick windowsill.
Take a look at
the home page and the site’s
main picture entitled “layered spiral”.
The artist says …“This spiral at the
end of a railing on 63rd street has some very interesting
texture due to dozens of layers of paint.” The
picture may be of a railing, but it’s 63rd
Street, it’s stone buildings, the traffic,
the doormen, and the dogs being walked that I see
in my mind.
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