Recently I came across an interesting exhibit that is located in Boston, New York and Hartford. The exhibit is called "Cities in Transition". Three artists/photographers were chosen to photograph one of the three cities and depict how the city is changing over time.
Mitch Epstein photographed Boston and I found the thought behind his work very boring. In his artist statement he discusses cars, transportation and surveillance equipment and how that effects urban life. Cars? Cameras? That could be any Western city, how is Boston specifically changing? The photographs are also pretty boring: a car crash, the Big Dig, some mail. He is known for telling stories of places with his photos and I think he really missed the mark on showing a growing Boston.
Chuck Close on the other hand (ie: my favorite artist of all time) did an outstanding and interesting job of captivating how New York is changing by photographing 5 immigrants. New York is so much about the cultures that encompass it. This was an interesting take on how the city is changing over time. Also Chuck Close is known for having very specific and tedious processes for his art work: he is an artist that does everything by hand. I wasn't surprised to see that he chose to take his photographs using Daguerreotypes: essentially the first type of photography that was invented. His photographs show his trademark portraits and are incredibly beautiful! I can't wait to see them in person.
If you're interested in checking the art work out in person, the locations are:
Boston: Downtown Crossing T-Stop
New York: Madison Ave and 5th Ave between 23rd and 26th Streets
Or on the web: www.utc.com/publicartproject
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