Chinatown
This exhibit was minimal. It had really strong colors that contrasted with the vivid colors of the photos themselves; primarily red and blue backgrounds. The space for the exhibition was big and wide as there was plenty of space in the middle. This was due to a few of the photos that were printed on and hung instead of being framed and hung on the walls. I can’t say exactly how many photos were on display but there were definitely more than 25. The photos were broken down into their respective creators. Most of the photos were focused on the daily lives of families that resided in the chinatown area of manhattan and queens.
From this exhibition I decided to focus on the work of Annie Ling. Her work in this gallery is mainly candid shots and angled shots of the area where certain families lived. Her project was oriented around, and titled, “81 Bowery” with the intention to capture the events and conditions of the people who live here. I believe that her work is successful in making me feel interested in the peoples lives and how they live along with their daily routine. Such as this photo.
Although there are no people present, this photo is visually stunning. The contrast in the colors from the main object (the fire extinguisher) and the background along with the direction of the light reels me into this photo. Although I don’t have any other photos from her set, this one stood out the most because of how vivid the colors are although there is no life present. It makes me want to figure out where everybody else is during the shooting of this photo.
With this, the previous photo is the one of the photos I loved the most. Part of the “81 Bowery” series, this photo represents filling the frame, an interesting perspective, and a nice use of lighting direction. I mainly love it because of how the light hits the subject while the rest of the photo is still visible. The light is direct enough to point the subject out but not drown out the rest of the background while doing it. Although this doesn’t help me understand much about the project, it makes me feel safe.
I wondered when we were in the exhibit Interior Lives about the large photo printed and hung in the middle. They seemed to be larger versions of photos that were on the walls. I thought at the time maybe the exhibit designer did this because the space in the middle made the show feel empty.
I am a bit surprised given all the moving photos of people that you picked this photo of a detail to write about. It is an important detail given the issues of safety and egress when people are living in tight quarters.
Where is your response to the Kubrick show?