2021 marks the 10th year of Photoville: “Ten years of public art around the globe, ten years of amplifying visual storytellers and building community through photography,” stated the Photoville website. To honor the anniversary, The New School Free Press visited three of the exhibitions in Manhattan out of dozens of locations all throughout New York in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. The photo exhibitions will run until Dec 1.
Among shaded streets, bustling subway entrances and flashing commercialism, the images are left to be consumed not only by the eyes of the public, but are also the backdrop of a living and changing city.
Photoville is a nonprofit organization that aims to broaden access and understanding of art and photography for everyone. They work with many local and national companies and organizations like The New York Times, New York City Parks, Parsons, National Geographic, Leica, and more.
Our first stop was at East Side Community High School located in the East Village. A handful of students sat laughing and sharing phone screens on the stairs leading up to the first exhibit, “An Incredible Freedom.” Enlarged and zip-tied to a fence bordering the school’s elevated courtyard, 12 student-produced photographs shining in direct sunlight faced the street on 420 E 12th St.
The images are located high up in the architecture; viewers looked up at the photographs in large format. Each image captured something different, showcasing young talent and moments from throughout 2020. These intimate pieces of art reflect various aspects of the student’s perspectives and experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the photographs, each piece and its description faces the viewers at street level, allowing them to have a more meaningful experience when looking at the work. The artists ranged from high schoolers to first-year students in college. The goals and ideas behind the students all represent expressions of vulnerability during a tumultuous time.
Portraits, still lifes, nature and detail shots fill the school front. Naidelyn Conteras, a 10th-grade student, wrote in the description of their work, “I wanted to focus on what someone’s eyes can tell about a person.” The photo is a close-up shot of a set of eyes met by a face mask, gazing away from the camera.
On a beautiful day, the quietness while school was in session on a primarily residential street created a peaceful space to reflect and take in the intimacy of young visions.
The next exhibit we saw was “Taxi Journey Through My Windows,” which takes viewers back to the 70s and 80s through scenes of Manhattan life. The work, shot by Joseph Rodriguez, offers his unique perspective through his eyes as a taxi driver. Some have motion blur due to the speed of the moving car and others are blurred by the speed of busy New Yorkers. In a series of black and white images, he captured phone calls, coffee runs, back entrances to night clubs and flirty exchanges between pedestrians. One image, taken of a man walking with his toddler in a stroller, features the street sign marking 14th Street and University Place, a familiar and heavily trafficked area by New School students.
Contrary to our first stop, this exhibit was displayed at ground level. Viewers could walk along the fence of First Street Green Cultural Park to take in the work, meanwhile surrounded by the buzz of Houston Street. The placement and installment of these pieces perfectly reflected the perspective of Rodriguez from his taxi.
As we stood to take in the images, car horns honked as they passed by, people rushed in and out of subways and noisy construction projected from behind the fence. We were drawn in from the sidewalk, taken through the view of the artist and given access to a glimpse of his life. “A humanist at heart, his photographs speak of the dignity of the city’s working-class and those struggling to get by from all the boroughs,” the Photoville website said. Walking down the block, eyes focused deeply on the images, we were brought decades back to that place; Rodriguez’s world.
It took a few minutes to locate our third exhibit amidst the costumed actors and dizzying nature of Times Square. Due to construction, each four-sided structure displaying the images was pushed towards the sidelines of what should have been a more spaced out experience of “Keeping Love Close: What Does Love Look Like?” on 42nd St and Broadway.
This exhibit gave an emotional look into a profound level of vulnerability that comes with being photographed in raw moments. The work from Asian and Asian American artists almost felt out of place in it’s location, with Minnie Mouse and the Hulk walking by asking if we wanted a picture with them. The images looked deep into people’s conflicts, addressing issues like struggles with addiction, loss, family life, relationships and more.
Photos by Alexandra Nava-Baltimore
Longer format quotes and descriptions laid below the images, inviting the viewer to understand the subjects and their stories. Although the images were captivating and beautifully made, the commotion and commercialism of a post-quarantine Times Square brought with it a disappointing inability to truly connect with the display of lives.
As we completed our final exhibit with tired feet, it occurred to us that these exhibits are best experienced stumbled upon rather than sought out from location to location. What they provide is an incredibly immersive New York experience that forces you to reflect on the streets you walk and the interconnectedness of the city around you.
These exhibitions were conveniently accessible as they were outdoors, free, and quite literally at the feet of people passing by. Walking down the sidewalk and being able to experience artwork is something exceptional and can have a lasting impact on our lives. Photoville provides a chance not only to stumble upon a perspective outside of our own, but to pause and reflect in the midst of our unique experiences.
You can visit other Photoville locations here.