Picturing New York: Photographs from The Museum of Modern Art

Description

'How shall the two-dimensional print in black and white suggest the flux of activity of the metropolis, the interaction of human beings and solid architectural constructions, all impinging upon each other in time?' Life of the City presents a myriad of answers to this question posed by photographer Berenice Abbott in 1939. Depicting the iconic NewYork that captivates the world's imagination and the idiosyncratic details that define NewYorkers' sense of home, this anthology of photographs from MoMA's extraordinary collection reveals NewYork in all its vitality, ambition and beauty. Made by artists pursuing their own curiosity as well as professionals on assignment, the works reveal a deeply symbiotic relationship between photography and the city, each delving into a new corner of NewYork, while expanding the boundaries of photography as an art form. The selection comprises celebrated images and lesser known gems - including works by Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan, Henri Cartier-Bresson,Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, Helen Levitt, Lisette Model, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Alfred Stieglitz, Weegee and many more - accompanied by evocative excerpts from literary works about NewYork.

Sarah Hermanson Meister is a Curator in the Department of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.