Canyon, Broadway and Exchange Place, Manhattan, 1936
1936
Silver print
25.3 x 20.2 cm (9 15/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
As if saturated, the vertiginous composition of Canyon, Broadway and Exchange Place, Manhattan, 1936 leaves almost no room for the bright sky, obscured by the dark, oppressive mass of three skyscrapers seen from below.
The photographer, Berenice Abbott, spent five years between 1935 and 1939 working on "Changing New York", a massive project devoted to the American metropolis. Setting out to photograph all of the fast-changing city’s façades, old and new, on film, she wanted to combine art with a documentary approach. Adjusting to her ever-changing subject, she innovated with framing and, as here, pointed her camera up at New York's new symbols.
Canyon, Broadway and Exchange Place, Manhattan, 1936 was presented for the first time by the Pinault Collection at the "Luogo e Segni" ("Place and Signs") exhibition at the Punta della Dogana in Venice in 2019.
The photographer, Berenice Abbott, spent five years between 1935 and 1939 working on "Changing New York", a massive project devoted to the American metropolis. Setting out to photograph all of the fast-changing city’s façades, old and new, on film, she wanted to combine art with a documentary approach. Adjusting to her ever-changing subject, she innovated with framing and, as here, pointed her camera up at New York's new symbols.
Canyon, Broadway and Exchange Place, Manhattan, 1936 was presented for the first time by the Pinault Collection at the "Luogo e Segni" ("Place and Signs") exhibition at the Punta della Dogana in Venice in 2019.
Exhibitions
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