If you are in New York City, and don’t have a ton of time, there are 2 places to see photography that can’t be missed.

One is ICP (International center of Photography), with 4 exhibits currently running that are as rich as they are varied.

We spoke about the Unknown Weegee exhibit over a week ago, but then went to see it first hand. You have seen his classic images before. Here is a collection of 120 images, never before available to the public, that gives such a deeper insight in to the man. Of particular note was coverage of an exhibit he had, where the images were tacked to the wall with section titles such as “Murders” with a drawing of a gun at the top. Not to be missed. A catalog of the show is available.

Then there is the work of Atta Kim, a contemporary artist with large scale color imagery that explores the passage of time in many ways. This work covers the first floor and will keep you there for a while.

Going back in time a bit, Tempo, Tempo! The Bauhaus Photomontages of Marianne Brandt. A student of Maholy Nagy, these photomontages from 1920’s-1930’s are a visually arresting commentary on politics and women using a depth of perspective, photographs, and type to deliver the message. Also of note are some photograms, belying her teacher’s influence.

To round out the visit, there is another brilliant exhibition called “Paris”. Along with classic images by Eugene Atget from the turn of the century, Christopher Rauschenberg has complimented this master with his own interpretation of the French capitol.

Check out ICP @ 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street
 ,New York, NY 10036
(212) 857-0000
www.icp.org
And we highly recommend membership in International Center of Photography: invites to openings, special member programs, and a discount on purchases.

The other stop you should make is the Fuller Building.
Located at 41 East 57th Street, this building houses an incredible number of high quality galleries. We couldn’t fit in all of them but……

Briefly on our visit 2 days ago:

Zabriskie Gallery – Man’s Man- Portraits of Men By Man Ray. With portraits of
Hemingway, James Joyce, Henry Miller Marcel Duchamp, Aldous Huxley, and many more, you must stop on 4th floor and enjoy.

Howard Greenberg Gallery – Photo Libris- an exhibition of important books and photographs. Each (out of print) book is shown with prints from the tome. Brilliant. 14th Floor

Cohen Amador Gallery – Taiji Matsue: Landscape – Particularly arresting about this show is the layout as you walk in and around the gallery. A perfect layout with this set of images. 6th Floor

Bonni Benrubui Gallery -Louis Stettner-Streetwise – 1947-2006. They have a wonderful website for you to peruse the show on-line, with the image and the price. 13th Floor

Yes, there are an incredible amount of photography galleries in NYC with great work exhibited. These are just 2 of our “ can’t miss” stops on every trip to the city. We hope you get a chance to visit in person or online. You won’t be disappointed.

When you see this work, you may be moved, angered ,bored, puzzled, awed, or inspired.
We feel that as long as you feel something. the image has succeeded.
There is an indescribable emotion when you see a piece of art that touches you. It keeps your soul nourished.
If we can help set a rich buffet table for you, then we have succeeded.
Or perhaps you get inspired to create more of your photographs.

Happy Sunday!
Cheers!
Damon Webster

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 11th, 2006 at 11:11 am and is filed under Galleries. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.