12-JUN-2014
Moby Dick, Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara, California, 2013
Certainly the largest sign on what is California’s oldest working wood wharf, is the huge painting of a whale hanging on the exterior wall of the Moby Dick Restaurant. When I saw a pair of visitors casually strolling by the open jaws of this hungry looking Sperm Whale, I lifted my camera and made this photograph. I had watched the women cross in front of the sign, and then pass it by. I waited for them to get about four feet in front of it, and then I pressed my shutter. The image works as a humorous juxtaposition because of the incongruous scale relationship and the positioning of the two women, who seem to have no inkling of what may be bearing down on them from behind. The sign is huge, while the women are small. The painted whale (most likely a reference to the great white whale in Herman Melville’s novel “Moby Dick.”) raises its tail to propel itself in unison with the raised heels of these unsuspecting women. Its jaws are open and filled with sharp teeth. It seems fixated on its prey. I abstract the women by shooting them from behind. They have no identity, and seem to have no concern either. While my viewers obviously know the whale is only signage, this image prods them to ignore reality, triggering their imagination by expressing an incongruous message through humorous juxtaposition.
17-OCT-2013
Contrasts, New York City, New York, 2013
I made this photograph of a scene just outside of the International Center of Photography. A man talks on a cell phone while standing before two photo murals in the museum’s window. The murals show people from other cultures confronting the camera while standing waist deep in what appear to be floodwaters. The man on the phone, dressed in western business attire, cradles a jacket below one arm, while gesturing with the other. He raises one foot to offset the thrust of his arm. A tree leans towards him – nature quietly echoes his move, instead of swamping him. By juxtaposing this caller with the photos in the background, I’ve created an image that contrasts not only cultural differences, but also illuminates differences in control. The people in the murals appear to be passively accepting natural disasters beyond their control, while the man on the phone actively strives to master his own destiny.
07-FEB-2013
Traffic, Miami Beach, Florida, 2013
I juxtapose three vehicles in both a vertical and horizontal progression of layers here to capture the bustle and flavor of this resort city. The hood of a silver car anchors the image at lower right, while a white SUV dominates the image at center. The SUV overrides the silver car, while its occupants go about their separate tasks. The driver of the car is tanned and stripped to the waist, his tattooed arm draped casually over the window slot. Very Miami. Very Beach. The city bus in the background crowns the image. The oversized picture of a young woman featured in an advertisement on the side of the bus rises above the entire scene. Her classic commercial beauty reinforces the youthful flavor of this photograph. When all three silver and white layers are juxtaposed in combination here, they offers a sense of this energetic sun-drenched city by the sea.
07-FEB-2013
Tobacconist, Little Havana, Miami, Florida, 2013
The traditional 19th century “Cigar Store Indian” statue, the symbol for a tobacco shop, is not enough for this cigar shop in Miami’s Cuban enclave. The boss himself (or at least the man who certainly looks like the boss) sits below the saluting figure identifying his shop. He wears an appropriate hat, as well as a company shirt, while puffing on his product. Meanwhile, the wooden statue rigidly holds a bundle of its own cigars at its waist. The juxtaposition of standing and seated figures creates a striking contrast of the real vs. the imaginary, while the shoppers gathered in the background create context for meaning.
12-AUG-2012
Wildflowers, Carmel, California, 2012
The vast field of wildflowers fills half this frame, each one of them fragile and temporary. I juxtapose them here in contrast to the rocky shore of Monterey Bay, which has stood here for hundreds of thousands of years and will likely still be there a hundred thousand years from now. I also juxtapose five bands of color across this wideangle view, beginning with green, then moving to a mixture of red and yellow, proceeding to a blend of gray and yellow, and finally on to the deep blue sea in the background. The image becomes a rainbow of time, a juxtaposition of the temporary and the permanent.
15-AUG-2012
Epitaph, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, California, 2012
Many of the tombs at this vast eternal gathering place of deceased Hollywood celebrities feature memorials left by fans and mourners. Most of them are floral offerings, but on this particular gravesite, someone has left cold cash, one cent to be exact. I discovered a copper penny balanced on the edge of the tomb plaque of George Raft, a movie star now mostly remembered for portraying the feared Chicago gangster “Spats Colombo” in Billy Wilder’s “Some Like it Hot,” in 1959. Raft’s real life association with actual mobsters gave his on-screen image added authenticity. Gangsters are essentially violent individuals who make money illegally. Raft memorably played them in films with such monetary titles as “Quick Millions,” “Hush Money,” “If I Had a Million,” and “I Stole a Million.” By juxtaposing a mere penny with Raft’s grave plate, someone has cleverly provided a symbolic epitaph for the actor who rests behind this marble slab. The lone penny echoes the bronze color of the lettering and seems to totter precariously near the edge the plaque. It symbolizes the transient nature of wealth and power, and links it to an iconic cinematic “tough guy.”
12-AUG-2012
Glowing garden, Carmel, California, 2012
I juxtapose here newly blooming small purple flowers with a massive tree trunk, drawing comparisons between light and dark, small and large, as well as young and old. The image is all about nature’s life cycle, which applies to all living things.
17-NOV-2011
Herod’s pillars, Caesarea, Israel, 2011
Herod the Great, who figures prominently in both Middle Eastern history and the Bible, built Caesarea as a deep harbor in 22 BC. It was the largest artificial harbor ever built in the open sea at the time. Mediterranean earthquakes, and the ravages of time have since had their way with Herod’s harbor. It is now mostly silted in, but evidence of the ruined harbor can still be seen at water’s edge, particularly these broken pillars. Once part of Herod’s Caesarea, the fallen pillars were eventually tossed into the sea to form part of a breakwater in medieval times. I juxtaposed these forlorn reminders of Herod’s harbor with the yellow rocks that strew the coastline of Caesarea.
25-NOV-2011
A slave’s story, St. John’s Cathedral, Valletta, Malta, 2011
One of the most evocative monuments in this lavishly appointed cathedral commemorates the life of one of Malta’s most respected Grandmasters, Nicolas Cotonor, who was responsible for much of the buildings decoration, carvings and gildings. A lavishly sculpted 1686 monument stands over Cotonor’s own tomb, featuring a triumphal pile of armaments and trophies, supported on the backs of slaves. I zoomed in on the monument to feature just one of those slaves, and only a portion of the armament pile. By abstracting the monument in this way, I create a juxtaposition that tells quite a different story. What was originally intended to memorialize glory and triumph in 1686 can be viewed in 2011 as an example of injustice and cruelty.
18-DEC-2010
Revolution, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2010
While touring one of Rio’s teeming favelas, I noticed what seemed to be revolutionary graffiti featuring a bearded man wearing a green beret with a red star. Perhaps it may be a crude rendering of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, who died in 1967 but is still revered in much of Latin America. His stylized visage has become a common countercultural symbol around the world. I made this image because of the motorcycle juxtaposed in front of the graffiti. It bears a red helmet, echoing the red star on the beret. Guevara will always be associated with motorcycles – in his youth he travelled 5,000 miles across South America on one. That journey made him aware of social injustices, leading to his political adventures that followed.
22-DEC-2010
Waiting, Theatro Santa Isabel, Recife, Brazil, 2010
I juxtapose here two theatregoers awaiting a song and dance performance in Recife’s historic 135 year old opera house. They are seated in adjoining boxes in the first balcony, yet they are unaware of each other. The woman at left seems to be reviewing her digital photographs, while the man at right seems to be patiently biding his time.
15-JUL-2010
Then and now, New York City, New York, 2010
The statues of Moses, Zoroaster, and Alfred the Great have looked down upon Madison Square Park from their lofty perch atop the Appellate Court Building for more than 100 years. During the present era, a huge office building was constructed behind them, dwarfing them in terms of scale, and creating a backdrop that is as severe as the statuary is ornamental. I photographed the three statues in the harsh noon light, which enabled me to complete the contrast by throwing the facade of the office building partially into shadow. By juxtaposing new to old, and light to dark, I compare then and now.
14-NOV-2009
Kachina, Cameron Trading Post, Cameron, Arizona, 2009
We were having dinner in the trading post dining room, built in 1916. I noticed a large Kachina looking down on us as we ate. Although the Kachina probably represents a Hopi spirit, it seems right at home in a dining room owned and operated by the neighboring and much larger Navajo tribe. From my low angle, I was able to juxtapose it against the dining room ceiling, creating still another incongruous comparison. The ceiling is made of pressed tin, symbolizing 19th and early 20th century American industrialization – the very force that eventually helped dilute and destroy so much of Native American culture. This tin ceiling has been beautifully restored, yet to those who understand the history of decorative interior design, it might be seen as a bittersweet kind of beauty.
17-OCT-2009
Ice cream, Kiev, Ukraine, 2009
We saw it from across a wide avenue, the Khreschatyk, Kiev’s main street. It was a simple ice cream sign, yet it was glowing softly next to a golden door from another time. The gentle swirls of ice cream juxtapose perfectly with the swirling ornamentation of the doorway, while the crusty cone seems to mimic the softly focused column at left in both texture and configuration. This image is a good example of using several kinds of juxtaposition in the same image. We compare then to now, and small to large. We also echo form and texture, compare dark to light, and vivid color to neutral hues.
16-OCT-2009
Divergent purposes, St. Vladimir Cathedral, Kiev, Ukraine, 2009
A religious service was in full flower as we visited this elegant cathedral, dedicated by Czar Nicholas II in 1896 to commemorate 900 years of Christianity in Russia. My fellow photographer Tim May (
http://www.pbase.com/mityam ) was busily framing a shot, seemingly oblivious to a worshipping Kievite not far from his right elbow. She is as intent on exercising her faith as Tim is in getting his shot. I juxtapose two human beings back to back from opposite sides of the earth who share a moment in time and space for entirely different purposes.
26-JUN-2009
Fountain, Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington, 2009
This fountain, made of glass, makes a whimsical backdrop for the child who I’ve juxtaposed before it. She carries a bag of goodies, and sticks her tongue out as she sprints towards the museum. The piles of twisted glass upon their rods seem to rise up and down in tribute to her dash. The shot came as a gift – I had been shooting the unusul glass fountain, and the kid ran right into my composition. By the time I focused, exposed, and pressed the shutter button, she had nearly run out of my frame.
23-JUN-2009
Pushmi-pullyu, Olympic National Park, Washington, 2009
I was buying a souvenir hat at a roadside outfitter when I learned that a herd of elk was grazing just behind it. I ran out of the store and into this shot. The two elk are juxtaposed in space as if they were linked, one incongruously merging out of the other. Mergers are usually disruptive, but this one makes one elk out of two. It reminds me of the Pushmi-pullyu, a fictional antelope in Hugh Lofting’s book, “The Voyages of Doctor Doolittle.” The Pushmi-pullyu has two heads at opposite ends of its body, and when it tries to move, both heads try to go in opposite directions.
09-APR-2009
Mailman, Tucson, Arizona, 2009
By juxtaposing a mailman sorting mail as he energetically strides to his next destination, with a stereotypical cartoon on the wall of a Mexican restaurant, I contrast the presence of hard work to a restaurant sign that speaks of “no work”. While we were surprised to find such ethnic stereotyping in Tucson, which is one-third Hispanic, perhaps political correctness has yet to take effect this close to the Mexican border. Or maybe the cartoon on the wall of this 76 year old landmark restaurant has been there so long that it is now just seen as part of the urban landscape.
09-APR-2009
Lobby, Congress Hotel, Tucson, Arizona, 2009
The Congress was built in 1919, and drips with nostalgic Southwestern atmosphere. I found only one person using its large lobby lounge, and he was studying a newspaper instead of his lavishly decorated environment. I’ve juxtaposed a single person here with a large room. I’ve also juxtaposed a room intended to be seen, with a person who does not try to see it. The result: an incongruous image. Later, we met this man. It turns out that he no longer needs to look at this beautifully decorated lobby. He is a Congress Hotel bartender, and he has worked there for 50 years.
12-APR-2009
On duty, Nogales, Arizona, 2009
I focused on a perfume advertisement on the opposite side of a busy street and waited for a juxtaposition that would strike a bold contrast with the model in the ad. After numerous misfires, a softly focused policeman on a motorcycle roared into my frame. I caught the model looking at him just over his windshield. He pays her no attention.
18-MAR-2009
Through the years, New York City, New York, 2009
A banner promoting tourism in New York, featuring a retro 30s Art Deco treatment of the Empire State Building, hangs opposite a 19th century brownstone. I bring the two subjects together in my frame, juxtaposing the classical embellishments of the brownstone’s architectural detail with the colors and stylization of the retro banner. By juxtaposing a 120 year old building with a contemporary banner that looks 75 years old, I try to offer an enduring vision of New York through the years.
16-NOV-2008
Headache, Tunis, Tunisia, 2008
On my final day in Tunisia, I had planned an afternoon shoot in the medina of Tunis. But rains intervened, and I contented myself by shooting street life from under the awning of my own hotel on Tunis’ Avenue Bourguiba. There was an advertising kiosk on a broad traffic island in the middle of the avenue, covered in entertainment posters. The posters on the bottom of the kiosk advertise a play or film called “Apples for Eve.” They feature eloquent hand expression. I waited for a passer-by to use a hand gesture just as expressive. After many false starts, it happened. A man stopped in his tracks, and clapped a hand to his forehead. Maybe he had a headache, perhaps he was momentarily confused, or he just might have been wiping the raindrops off his face. I leave the answers to my viewers.
09-NOV-2008
Cemetery, Kairouan, Tunisia, 2008
The grass in this Islamic cemetery makes fodder for sheep, a juxtaposition expressing the cyclical nature of life and death. The grass grows between the graves just as the wool grows on the backs of the grazing sheep. The rounded backs of the sheep mimic the curves of the graves stones in the background.
06-NOV-2008
Tram stop, Tunis, Tunisia, 2008
This is a both a cultural and physical juxtaposition – the traditional dress of a Muslim woman contrasts in both color and coverage to the clothing of the women to either side of her, while the body language of the man at right unconsciously reflects the body language of the woman next to him.
14-NOV-2008
Over the top, Matmata, Tunisia, 2008
The compression effect of my long 400mm telephoto lens creates an incongruous juxtaposition by making it seem as if a tractor is somehow riding on top of these Matmata buildings. I saw the tractor gradually ascending the steep incline behind the buildings and waited for it to reach the right spot for this juxtaposition.
05-NOV-2008
American war cemetery, Carthage, Tunisia, 2008
Nearly 3,000 American soldiers, sailors and coast guardsmen who died fighting German General Rommel’s Afrika Corps in World War II are buried in this cemetery, located near the site of the ancient Carthaginian city destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC. The cemetery links two wars, fought two thousand years apart. The servicemen who are buried here are linked in death as well, and I use telephoto lens compression to draw a long row of them together, juxtaposing cross upon cross, incongruously broken only by a Star of David at the midpoint of the image.
15-MAY-2008
Bear cub, Yosemite National Park, California, 2008
A long line of cars was parked alongside of one of Yosemite’s main roads, meaning that somebody had spotted something of great interest. It was a bear cub, wandering through the forest by itself, no doubt dispatched by its mother to learn the ways of the world on its own. While it stayed considerable distance from the road, and we could go no further than the edge of the road, we could follow it by walking parallel to it as it proceeded along its mid-day amble in the forest. At one point, I noticed that the bear cub was heading for an area where there wildflowers, and I focused on two of them that were just in front of a pine tree. The bear cub must have been listening to the conversation in my brain, because it slowly walked right up to the flowers I had in focus, allowing me to make this shot. By juxtaposing the bear cub with the wildflowers, I contrast two vulnerabilities. The bear cub is a newcomer to the forest, and the tiny flowers are prone to being eaten or crushed.
08-JAN-2008
Man with a hoe, somewhere near the Vietnam/Cambodian border, 2008
The iconic image of a man with a conical hat and a hoe on his back, trudging alongside of a riverbank, gets an updated context to work with here. There are two utility wires hanging just over his head. Some photographers would use Photoshop to take them out because they "spoil" what would be an otherwise idyllic image. But to me, the wires are essential components of communication. By juxtaposing the traditional scene with those wires so symbolic of the contemporary world, I tell the story of what awaits him, and all of Vietnam.
03-JAN-2008
Fantasies, Vinh Long, Vietnam, 2008
Two women emerge from a wedding dress store in Vinh Long, a store that trades largely on dreams. Vietnamese weddings are often massive community events, and the bride changes dresses several times during the ritual. The women probably work in this store – their businesslike outfits and attitudes contrast to the stylized mannequins in the store. They, like the motorbike parked just outside the store, represent the real world. I juxtapose them against the three figures inside the store that represent the stuff that dreams are made of.
11-SEP-2007
Chanting nuns, Ji Ming Temple, Nanjing, China, 2007
All of these nuns are chanting their prayers, but some are doing it from memory, while another does it from the book. This juxtaposition speaks of differences in experience. The nuns at left have probably been chanting this prayer for some time, while the nun at right has not.
12-SEP-2007
Flea Market, Chaotian Palace, Nanjing, China, 2007
A maze of merchants sells bric-a-brac, antiques, and relics of China's Cultural Revolution in a permanent flea market on the grounds of this Ming Dynasty palace complex. Among the items on sale was this statue of Mao, which seems to be lost amidst the shadows. By juxtaposing Mao against the dark background and the texture of the surrounding tarps that cover the goods during off-hours, I imply that he is a figure out of the past rather than the present.
07-AUG-2007
Photographer, Lookout Studio, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007
Photography at the Grand Canyon is overwhelmingly difficult, at best. The subject is best worked at dawn or twilight, when light and shadow sculpt the massive rock formations into coherent forms. It is a vast subject – almost two three hundred miles long – yet most of us are limited by time to shooting the canyon from a relatively few well known vantage points. In this case, a photographer is shooting the canyon at sunset from the stone viewing porch of the Lookout Studio, which was built in the early 20th century as a gift shop/lookout point. The great American Southwestern architect Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter designed it to harmonize with its setting. I juxtaposed this photographer working from the stone terrace of Lookout Studio, against the enormous bulk of the reddish rock looming before him from the canyon floor. He is small, and his task is large. He has a challenge before him – he must somehow avoid copying an image he has seen time and time again. He must find new life in an old idea. And that is the story I am trying to tell with this juxtaposition.
06-JUL-2007
Concentration, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, Colorado, 2007
I was drawn to the incongruous juxtaposition featured in this mural – the array of colorful birds seem at odds with the soulful expression of the woman. I saw this mural as a background context and photographed numerous festival patrons walking in front of it, including this woman in the white shirt. Just as she passed into the space between the birds and the sad looking woman, I was able to create another juxtaposition. I was delighted to see this woman raise her hand to her face, as if she was lost in thought. Her raised arm matches the angular flow of the arm of the woman behind her. She never sees the mural that we see. The image becomes a story of concentration, doubt, and introspection.
12-JUN-2007
Art imitates life, Petaluma, California, 2007
Part of the 109 foot long Petaluma Heritage Mural, painted in 1998 by Steve Della Maggiora, makes a perfect backdrop for the real thing. By juxtaposing a live tree with a similar tree in the mural, I’ve tried to add both depth perspective and incongruity to the story.
Shortly after posting this image, I was delighted to receive the following pbase message from the artist himself:
" hey, Phil-
I turned up your gallery photo of the Petaluma Mural tree and the real one in a search of my name (something I do periodically to see what's up) and it's cool that you noticed the similarity between the two.
That was not a mistake. I used the real tree as a model for the painted one.
No one has ever mentioned it to me -- if they noticed, they never said anything about it.
Your photos are great. Carry on!
-steve della maggiora"
18-DEC-2006
Watching for customers, Erg Chebbi, Sahara Desert, Morocco, 2006
I was up early to catch the first light on the dunes surrounding our remote desert camp, and noticed a man lurking in the golden sand. He proved to be a self-appointed “dune guide” who, for a small tip, helps tourists climb to the top of the steep dunes to watch the sunrise. He waits here in the bitter cold for customers. By juxtaposing him against tents full of still sleeping tourists I tell the story of entrepreneurship. The fact that he seems half buried in the dunes symbolizes the difficulty of earning a livelihood here – not every tourist wants to climb to the top of the dunes, and many of those that do would rather make the journey by themselves.
14-DEC-2006
National archaeology museum, Rabat, Morocco, 2006
Cats freely roam the interior of this museum, just as they no doubt stalked the streets of the nearby ancient Roman city of Volubilis, the original site of these statues. I juxtapose the cat, which took an interest in my camera, with the statues to make this point.
14-DEC-2006
Patience, Royal Palace, Rabat, Morocco, 2006
I juxtapose one of the palace’s staff members, who stands in the morning sun, with the palace security officers who gather in the cold shadows. The juxtaposition of light and shadow also implies a gulf in status – the men in the shadows have authority, while the man revealed in the light does not. He seems to be patiently waiting for information, but it is slow in coming.
25-DEC-2006
Cornered, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
By juxtaposing a homeless man resting in a ruined building and the ravaged ornamentation on its walls, I create a metaphor for a life in ruins. There is also juxtaposition in color contrast here as well – the man is dark, while the ruins around him, and particularly the ornamentation, are almost cheerful.
28-SEP-2006
Fog on the Firehole, Yellowstone National Park, 2006
Early morning fog begins to lift over the Firehole River Valley as I juxtapose a grazing bison to a leaning pine tree. Both the tree and the hump of the bison’s back point to the left. There is strong contrast between the large tree and the smaller bison. There is tension in the negative space between them -- it almost feels as if the bison could push it over if it got much closer.
24-SEP-2006
Old and new, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006
I juxtapose a massive new downtown office building against the turret of an old neighborhood church to contrast spirituality to commerce and the old to the new. The glass windows of the office building, reflecting the deep blue Utah sky, seem opaque and blind to what is around them. They stare at the church like hundreds of blank eyes.
19-OCT-2006
Parts of nature, June Lake, California, 2006
Using a long telephoto lens, I have reached out to juxtapose a large underwater rock with a dead tree. They are separated by distance, yet the telephoto has incongruously brought them together. One is solid, the other open. One is strong, the other frail. One is on the ground, the other in the water. Yet the tree reaches its branches out to embrace that rock. Its arms seem to be a perfect fit for that big rock.
20-OCT-2006
Sand Tufa, Navy Beach, Mono Lake, California, 2006
Sand Tufas are formed as freshwater springs percolate through Mono Lake’s briny bottom. Eventually, the bottom becomes dry land as the lake shrinks. The sand tufas are intricate sand tubes and columns, exposed as winds strip away their sandy coverings. Here, I juxtapose the hard, dry, black sand tufas with the brown fluff of massed sage. The contrast in color and texture make the gaudy form of the sand tufa seem even more bizarre.
07-AUG-2006
Outnumbered, 8th Street, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
In this street photograph, I’ve juxtaposed a single man walking on ground level, and a second floor window featuring six exotically dressed female mannequins. I offer contrasts in gender, costume, vitality, elevation, and direction that create incongruous relationships rich in potential meaning. The man does not see the mannequins – they are only visible from across the street where I am. The mannequins don’t see him, either. They are otherwise occupied. Yet you can see the entire scene, and take from it whatever you wish.
02-AUG-2006
Madison Square Park, New York City, 2006
Using foreground and background layers, I juxtapose the work of nature against the work of man in this image. The trees offer an oasis of green in a city known for its population density. One of the most historically important squares in New York City, Madison Square was designed as a public space in 1847. Over the last hundred and fifty years, it has been bordered by residences, then shops, the original Madison Square Garden sporting arenas, and numerous office buildings, among them the headquarters of great insurance companies. Yet its sun splashed trees, seen here in early morning back light, have remained the one constant – a reminder that man is here as nature’s guest.
07-AUG-2006
Ice Cream Shop, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
Life imitates art in this layered juxtaposition of a woman sipping a chocolate milk shake. She is oblivious to the similar pleasures depicted in the painting just behind her. I made this image from the street, shooting through a large window in the shop’s door. I included the frame of the door as a foreground layer, which makes the viewer even more of an observer. This juxtaposition of reality and fantasy tells us that the pleasure of refreshment is a blend of both.
08-AUG-2006
Then and now, South Street Seaport, New York City, 2006
In the 18th and 19th Centuries, a forest of masts blanketed the wharves of New York’s East River. Today there are but two sailing ships left, both part of the city’s South Street Seaport Museum. The Wavertree (1885) and The Peking (1911). I juxtaposed them both against the façade of a contemporary office building, appropriately made of green glass, the color the sea itself. I am contrasting two eras in time by placing the ships in the foreground layer and the building as a background layer.
03-AUG-2006
To and fro, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, 2006
In this image I’ve juxtaposed a group of three pedestrians marching along New York’s 168th Street in single file, with one woman walking against the flow, under an umbrella. The heat was fierce, even in the morning, and the umbrella offered her comforting shade. They move stride for stride in opposite directions – a two way journey delineated by the shadow provided by the overhang of the Medical Center’s emergency room parking area. Nobody makes eye contact in this parade of urban anonymity. These people are islands unto themselves.
02-AUG-2006
The long and the short of it, Madison Square Park, New York City, 2006
This is a dual juxtaposition, a study in leafy contrasts. I contrast green against brown, and long against short, stressing the thought and care that the New York City Parks Department brings to its gardening. As gardens go, this may be a relatively small planting, used to flank a statue of Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State William H. Seward at the spot where Broadway, Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street collide. It offers us contrasts in color, texture, size, height, and shape.
08-AUG-2006
Golden bottle, South Street, New York City, 2006
It was a simple sign with no words – only a large bottle hanging over the street to mark the shop of a wine merchant. I juxtaposed that golden bottle with the dark green doors and pillars at the entrance to the shop – comparing light to dark, and gold to green. By juxtaposing objects of opposite brightness and colors, we express maximum contrast to draw the eye and stir the mind. The fact that those dark doors have bright brass doorknobs only enhances the contrast. This sign is a throwback to another time when literacy was rare and merchants used signs showing exactly what they sold, often in stylized form such as this. South Street is one of Manhattan’s most historic neighborhoods. Some of its buildings are nearly 200 years old. This image, because of its powerful juxtapositions, helps to tell its story.
03-AUG-2006
Medieval architecture, The Cloisters, New York City, 2006
The Cloisters, holding the medieval collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
is a group of European buildings that were transplanted in the 1930s to a park high over the Hudson River at the northern tip of Manhattan Island. This image shows a small part of one building – a column and the roof supports from a cloister of a French monastery. I built the image in two layers – a simple juxtaposition of foreground and background subject matter. It is also a juxtaposition of color and tonality – with light stone in the foreground contrasting to the dark ceiling overhead. I repeat the arching roof supports in both background and foreground to link the two layers.
02-AUG-2006
Cross-section, New York City, 2006
The early morning sun gives this cityscape the glow of painted canvas. It is a cross-section of contrasting scale, color and architectural style, underscoring the evolution of New York. In this three-layer image, I juxtapose three progressively higher structures. A small red 19th Century building occupies the foreground and a slightly larger early 20th Century building in the middle ground. In the windows of the 19th Century building we can see abstracted reflections of 21st Century advertising billboards. The middle building is topped with a water tank matching the color of the massive structure forming the background layer. From the look of the faded signs on its wall, it seems to date from the early years of the 20th century as well. ¬
08-AUG-2006
Emotions, South Street Seaport, New York City, 2006
In this two layer image, I’ve juxtaposed sharply contrasting figures in size and orientation – the men in the foreground are incongruously smaller than the woman in the advertisement behind them. The men look at each other, while the woman looks right past them. Yet I’ve also juxtaposed similar emotional responses – all three characters in this image appear to be laughing or smiling. Whenever we can juxtapose contrasts and similarities within the same image, the opportunity for expression increases.
03-AUG-2006
Hanging a right, New York City, 2006
This night-time image of the intersection of 24th Street and Lexington Avenue was made from the roof of a residential building by using a one second exposure. The moving traffic has created a contrasting juxtaposition for us – the car making a right hand turn is reduced to a streak of curving lights, while the traffic roaring through the intersection is abstracted down to diagonal blurs. A secondary juxtaposition contrasts the stationary cars parked on either side of the crossing streets to the moving traffic.
03-AUG-2006
Crypt, The Cloisters, New York City, 2006
My goal was to simplify this tomb, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s medieval collection on display at its Cloisters branch. I chose to do it by juxtaposing the horizontal figure with the vertical arch soaring overhead. The contrast between the vertical and horizontal elements here is stark and filled with tension. By cutting the arch in half and running its inner edge diagonally from corner to corner, the image become abstracted – leaving completion of both the arch and the reclining figure to the viewer. I further abstract this image by converting it to black and white, draining all signs of life from both figure and arch.
08-AUG-2006
Ground Zero, New York City, 2006
Five years after terrorists toppled the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Ground Zero remains a sobering, heart wrenching sight. On the northern rim of the vast space that once held the towers stands another lofty office building, smaller yet somewhat similar in design to those that were destroyed. The world would never be the same after September 11, 2001, and to make that point, I juxtaposed three strands of barbed wire on the top of fence that rings the site, against the neighboring skyscraper looking much like those that fell. I am juxtaposing symbol against symbol – the barbed wire representing curtailed freedoms and new restraints, and the building representing a world that is lost forever. In juxtaposing a negative against a positive symbol, I contrast then to now.
07-AUG-2006
Conversation, New York City, 2006
These four women create their own juxtaposition by pairing off and facing each other in conversation. I contrast those we can see with those we cannot. The viewer is left to fill in the details of the two abstracted women who face away from us. The women who face us seem much more animated. They are talking simultaneously, while the two listeners patiently absorb whatever may be going down here. I was struck by the uniformity of dress. It is almost as if all of them are in costume – two of them wear slacks, two wear skirts and all wear black. Two are blondes, two brunets, and all carry purses. The two who speak wear sandals; the two who listen wear shoes. Both of the speakers use their arms as they speak to express feelings, while the two who listen use passive body language. Juxtapositions are essentially a way of comparing and contrasting. There is much here to both compare and contrast.
08-AUG-2006
Among the dead, St. Paul’s Chapel, New York City, 2006
I juxtapose two live people against the resting places of ten people who are not. Shooting from behind the bench, I abstract the couple, and let their body language speak for itself. I thought at first they were mourners. But then the people below those stones have been gone for 200 years. When I later walked in front of them, I saw that they were looking at digital photos on the viewfinder of their camera.
02-AUG-2006
Fenced off, New York City, 2006
New York is a city of barriers. I moved in on these modernistic spikes that top the entrance gate to this office building’s driveway, and juxtaposed their horizontal sweep with the soaring vertical walls of the building itself. While the gate tells us to keep out, its warm coloration has already been absorbed in the distant buildings. (Note the splash of gold on the wall at left and the golden reflection in the windows.) The upward thrust of each spike is echoed in the windows and vertical trim on the buildings that rise behind them.
07-AUG-2006
In the shadows, Christopher Park, Greenwich Village, New York City, 2006
The powerful incongruity of artist George Segal’s stark white yet realistic bronze figures sitting together on a park bench becomes even more striking when we see what is juxtaposed with them on the same bench. The figures touch in friendship. The man, initially lost in the shadows, has only the bench itself to touch. The figures are part of New York City’s Gay Liberation Monument. A transcript of the plaque on the fence in the background is reproduced at:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=10767