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Photos courtesy of John Frattasi
torn down, you were starting to really
see neighborhoods change in a very
dramatic way. I think that Long Island
City is very exemplary of that.”
The intention, according to Frattasi,
is to show the way that change, reinvention
and spontaneity are constant
themes in New York City without taking
an opinionated stance on it.
“I thought, ‘Wow, what an interesting
time for New York. What an interesting
moment,’” he said. “Because
I believe that the city’s undergoing
its greatest transformation, really,
since the invention of the skyscraper,
when they arrived kind of post-Great
Depression era when the skyline really
got built up. I think that, really,
the development that’s happened in
the last couple of decades is unprecedented.”
The project’s blend of street and architectural
photography was inspired
by “the city’s vibrant colors, stark
contrasts and perpetual ‘in-between’
moments often overlooked throughout
its day-to-day life,” the lifelong
New Yorker wrote in his artist’s statement.
A goal of “Velocity” is to shift the focus
from iconic images of New York
to the spontaneous and fleeting moments
in time that really bring life to
the city.
“I think that the images also have elements
of New York that I hope are iconic
New York moments,” he said. “You’ll
see places like the Empire State Building
or the Freedom Tower or other recognizable
buildings that will give you a
sense of place but, for me, one of the
challenges of the project that made it
interesting was that New York City is
so documented. It’s so photographed.
It’s so iconic … I kind of wanted to take
iconic New York, make it a background
element, oftentimes, in my images,
which was a very unique challenge in
perspective.”
Additionally, gentrification is a focal
point of the piece, as his photos
capture old buildings being taken
down to make way for modern highrises
and luxury apartment buildings.
/BOROMAG.COM
