The Brooklyn Bridge by Jin Woo Chung
Above are two pictures of New York’s great tourist attraction, the Brooklyn Bridge. Considered an amazing feat of engineering during its times, the Bridge is depicted in Hassam’s painting not too long after its construction. Being an impressionist, Hassam depicts the Bridge as a huge, foreboding monolith in the back in the cold day as men, women and children make their way from it. The vanishing point is obvious as the linear perspectives centers on the bridge itself. The eerie smoke and hazy outlook gives the picture an ephemeral appearance.
In contrast to Hassam’s painting stands the good ol’ photo I took last week. Unlike Hassam’s, the Bridge here looks inviting and social, as people stand around it to talk or people just jog along it for some exercise. In the background can be seen the Brooklyn skyline, illustrating the modernity of the setting. The vanishing point is once again centered on the bridge and is the visual, realistic snapshot of the actual bridge.
Both these pictures showcase the Brooklyn Bridge, but Hassan’s makes his depiction of it quite cold and distant, while my photo of it shows it as a nice, inviting place for tourists around the world to gather and enjoy the site. Oh my! How New York has changed, hurry for gentrification and commercial tourism!!!
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Cultural Map
"The Original Topography of Manhattan Island from the Battery to 155th Street" From Report on the Social Statistics of Cities, Compiled by George E. Waring, Jr., United States. Census Office, Part I, 1886. (Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas-Austin)
