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11/09/2009: "Harlem: A Photographer's Impression"
All of my life I have been studying composition. The way in which forms, space and light relate to each other can create a visual image that tells a story one way or another. The interrelationship of elements may devise a magical picture that causes the viewer to enter the dream. In another juxtaposition of components, the observer may be tempted to extract from the image aspects that may be built on to form another story. Still other possibilities exist within the structure of that which the artist presents to the audience. I have always sought out subject matter that gives viewers of my photographs insight into how I relate to the subjects that I photograph and an idea that the viewer can enhance my images with his or her own perspectives.
When thinking of offering viewers new photographs that can spark their own imaginations and can create an involvement with my photography, I must thread together photographs that, in some way, can be seen as a whole exhibit and as separate entities, unique to themselves. In recent years I have focused on architectural details that grace buildings that were ornamented with care and attention to design. I am passionate about architecture and have found a wealth of wonderful subject matter for my photography in New York, Miami, Stockholm, Amsterdam and other well known cities. However, when I was presented with the opportunity for a photography show during January 2010 at Jadite Galleries in New York City, I wanted to go beyond what I had previously created. I looked to broaden my scope by photographing a community that housed some of the most beautiful and historical architecture in the world: Harlem.
Located in Northern Manhattan, Harlem was primarily inhabited by dairy farmers and also served as a get away retreat for wealthy New Amsterdam businessmen in the 1600’s. Much of the original architecture is Dutch. Through the centuries, different cultures have added their imprints on the neighborhood. However, the greatest impact on the community was the Harlem Renaissance that occurred in the early 1920’s: an outpouring of African American culture. Music, art, literature, theatre were all produced as the area swelled with enormously creative artists. This era gave the name Harlem a special magic.
I went to Harlem last spring with my cameras and fell under its spell. The community is alive with all manner of visual sights: sensations that fashion dreams and those that are moments of acute awareness. Harlem is such a visual banquet that I returned over and over again, visiting small areas and wondering at the mosaic that it is. On one day I stood on the platform of Metro North and looked for miles in either direction through a light summer’s mist. Although the day was hazy, it was as if the deffused light was willing me to see the grandeur of the scope from the heights of 125th Street. Another day, I discovered the Astor houses. Brick homes with wooden verandas in the heart of urban New York. Each has a lovely small yard overflowing with flowers. Everywhere there are churches. Tall and magnificent, small and sacred, thin spires, intricate brick and stone. The neo-Gothic architecture of City College and the art deco facades on Convent Avenue. Strivers’ Row and the Apollo Theater. Everywhere there are gardens, flowers, trees, light and shadow, form and space. The fascination grew and I took thousands of photographs in the hopes of telling the story of a wondrous place. I hope, too, that my photographs will instill this wonder in their viewers.
