and

a blog with cultural bulimia.

Monday, August 29, 2005

the architectural romance of New York

 Sixth Avenue From 22nd Street
"This view looking north up Sixth Avenue focuses on the faded bricks and cornices of these 19th-century shop buildings, once part of the elegant Ladies Mile. The ground levels have all been substantially altered by the current variety of commercial venues, leaving the original integrity of the architecture visible only on the upper stories." [New York Times]

The Work of Frederick Brosen
"His chosen subject over 30 years of work is the architectural romance of New York.

Like so many romances, Mr. Brosen's with the city passes in the blink of an eye. His is the viewpoint of the passer-by, the solitary walker. He paints the fleeting moment of a side street glimpsed from the curb or crosswalk. In a larger sense, he paints the fleeting moment of changing neighborhoods glimpsed from the dissolving vantage of the past. (...)

What counts here is the sense of frozen time, time stopped and captured, or time observed midflight: a rare commodity in bustling New York."