When deciding how best to create a narrative of New York City, I struggled with how I would ultimately come to paint an accurate picture of its vibrant landscape. Admittedly I was drawn to photography, as it’s a medium I’m both passionate about and comfortable with. However, the project guidelines explicitly stated that, while I can include photos in my submission, I’m not allowed to produce another photo portfolio. Thus I found myself back at square one. At this point I knew I still wanted to incorporate photography somehow, but needed to find a more creative way to do so. After some thought and frustration, I finally settled on portraiture. I made this decision for a multitude of different reasons, but primarily because it would force me to operate outside of my comfort zone. Although I love taking photos of my surroundings and the occasional candid portrait, I rarely find myself asking people for photos in a more formal setting. Taking someone else’s photo can be a very intimate experience, and often if not always requires some sort of personal exchange. Seeing as I’m not exactly a social butterfly, I tend to shy away from such interactions. Even so, I wanted to push myself to face my fears in hopes of learning something about myself, as well as those I photographed.
I was initially going to tackle the portraits HONY style, but decided the project would be more unique if I chose a different format. Despite this change in plans, I decided my goal would continue to be: capture the diversity of New York City by means of its many inhabitants. As we know, “diversity” can point to many things. Portraiture-wise, the most obvious form of diversity would be that of appearance. However, in the spirit of learning something about my subjects, I wanted to move away from that which is immediately apparent, and more towards something deeper–diversity of thought. I figured this would be especially relevant in light of the recent election. Diversity of thought has the potential to be extremely divisive, but undeniably unifying as well. I wanted to focus on its power to unify because I believe unity is the foundation for progress. Subsequently, I asked each of my subjects to answer a couple questions about the present and future of New York City.
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What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of New York City?
In one word, what do you want and/or see for the future of New York City?
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Responses ranged from “dirty” to “dreams” and everything in between, but the message remained abundantly clear: we want the future to be better. Each of the words given to me not only expressed something about New York City, but the individual as well. It’s interesting to see the relationship between each New Yorker and the city in which they live–they are simultaneously shaped by and shapers of New York City. Both exist as a reflection of the other. In order to allude to the aforementioned theme of unity, I decided to combine the 16 portraits into two larger 4×4 collages. Over the eyes of each subject, I placed a censor bar and their one-word responses to my questions. I chose to do this because I felt that, in a way, their words became their identities. The first collage is meant to function as a collective portrait of NYC in the present, and the second as a portrait of NYC’s future. In viewing the collages, the disparity in words is prevalent and serves to create a dual identity for NYC. Most importantly, it raises the question of, “How do we ensure that the future of NYC coincides with our personal hopes and values?”. We truly are the generation that is capable of making these visions realized; but with great power comes great responsibility. So I will leave each of you with something to think about:
How can/will you utilize your distinctive skill sets to enhance and progress New York City?
