About this project
See the book prototype here.
HISTORY
Millions of Americans trace
their roots to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was once home to one the
largest Jewish communities in the world, and it has been an entry point for
numerous other ethnic groups over the years—Europeans first, and more recently
Latinos and Asians. Today, the neighborhood is a magnet for a new cadre of
young strivers, this time with more money to spend. This change has come
rapidly, and not without some trauma, to the people and to the architectural
fabric of these historic streets.
THE PROJECT
In 1980, after graduating
from art school, I photographed the neighborhood in a unique collaboration with
fellow photographer Ed Fausty. The Lower East Side was at its darkest, but most
creative moment. While buildings crumbled and burned, artists and musicians
came to explore and express the edgy quality of the place. Recently, I have
returned to the streets of lower Manhattan—working alone this time—to
re-explore the neighborhood.
East 5th Street, 1980 (Brian Rose/Ed Fausty)
The images from 1980 were made in
the relatively early days of color art photography. Ed and I sought to bring view camera color, and a modern perspective, to a subject largely defined in the past by gritty black and white images. After the project was completed and exhibited in 1981, it remained
unseen in my archive. I went on to other projects, and lived overseas for 12
years in Amsterdam.
Orchard Street, 1980 (Brian Rose/Ed Fausty)
THE PROJECT CONTINUES
After the events of
September 11th, I was drawn again to New York as a subject for my
camera. I began thinking about making a response to what had happened to the
city, one that would take a longer view of the impact on New York and beyond.
Eventually I came to the conclusion I should return to where I had begun--the
Lower East Side--the place where so many Americans got their start. The old
neighborhood tucked beneath the bridges lying at the feet of the pinnacles of
power would serve as a barometer of change and continuity.
East 9th Street, 2010 (Brian Rose)
TIME AND SPACE
From the outset it was clear
that this would not be a simple before/after take on the neighborhood. While
keeping an eye on the earlier photographs done in 1980, I wanted to rediscover
the place with fresh eyes, with the perspective of time, change, and history.
The result is a collection of photographs that looks backwards and forwards,
that posits the idea that places are not simply “then and now,” but exist in a
continuum of decay and rebirth.
THE BOOK
I am working with an independent publisher to make Time and Space on the Lower East Side available in stores and online. Photography books are expensive to produce, and our resources are scarce. This is a unique project about one of America's most important and historic neighborhoods. You can be a part of that history by supporting this book.
Thank you!
Essex Street, 2010 (Brian Rose)
See the book prototype here.
FAQ
-
The new book will follow the basic sequence of photographs of the original, but with a tighter edit. The printing quality will be superior with heavier paper, and the design is being reworked by a graphic designer. There will be an introduction by singer songwriter Suzanne Vega. She and I met when I began doing the Lower East Side project in 1980.
-
Golden Section Publishing, a new independent publisher headed by photographer and book collector Bill Diodato. Bill has produced his own book, Care of Ward 81, which followed in the footsteps of Mary Ellen Mark, who had photographed the women of Ward 81 at the Oregon State Mental Hospital. The ward was eventually emptied, and Bill photographed the abandoned interiors, which were also used in the filming of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
-
We are planning to complete production of the book this year, and hope to have it in stores and available online in early 2012.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
87
Backers
$11,342
pledged of $10,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 10, 2011.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
A special edition postcard series of five images from Time and Space on the Lower East Side.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
A signed copy of the completed book: Times and Space on the Lower East Side, and special edition postcard series of five images.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Two signed copies of Times and Space on the Lower East Side and two special edition postcard series.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
A signed copy of the deluxe slipcover edition of Time and Space on the Lower East Side. This book will include a signed 8x10 print of the cover image, and will be limited to an edition of 100. Plus special edition postcard series.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Two signed copies of the deluxe slipcover edition of Time and Space on the Lower East Side, each with signed 8x10 prints of the cover image. In addition, your name will be included in the acknowledgement section inside the book. Plus special edition postcard series. (deluxe slipcover edition limited to 100 copies)
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
A signed copies of the deluxe slipcover edition of Time and Space on the Lower East Side plus a signed 16x20 exhibition quality print of an image from the book. In addition, your name will be included in the acknowldgement section inside the book. Plus special edition postcard series. (deluxe slipcover edition limited to 100 copies)
Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more
Two signed copies of the deluxe slipcover edition of Time and Space on the Lower East Side, and two signed 16x20 exhibition prints of images from the book. In addition, your name will be included in the acknowldgement section inside the book. Plus special edition postcard series. (deluxe slipcover edition limited to 100 copies)
Project By
Has not connected their Facebook account.
Born in Virginia, Brian Rose moved to New York City in 1977 to attend the Cooper Union. He studied with photographers Joel Meyerowitz and documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker.
In 1980 he and fellow Cooper graduate Ed Fausty photographed the Lower East Side of Manhattan, supported by a New York State CAPS grant, and later participated in a photographic survey of the Financial District, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1985 Rose began photographing the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall. That project, continuing to the present, chronicles the fall of the Wall and the rebuilding of Berlin. His book The Lost Border: The Landscape of the Iron Curtain was published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2004.
Since the mid-2000s Rose has been re-photographing the Lower East Side, documenting the World Trade Center site, and maintaining a photography weblog. Rose’s work has been collected by the Museum of Modern Art and Metropolitan Museum of Art. He lives in New York with his wife, urban planner Renée Schoonbeek, and his 12 year old son Brendan.
