Exhibit opening, screening, & talk

Tuesday June 4, 2013, 7:30 PM

Moderated by Marion Durand, Newsweek photo editor

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Brooklyn Buzz is an extended visual exploration of Brooklyn, New York and its inhabitants, viewed from the windows of MTA buses during the summer of 2010. Caught in passing, each image is a chance arrangement of figures that appeared for a brief moment in front of the camera before the bus moved on. The bus windows work as filters to the outside: sometimes like enlarging lenses, amplifying and revealing unpredictable details; other times operating like protective barriers that allow the gaze of the viewer to penetrate people‘s lives and accurately describe otherwise unknown, hidden, or difficult-to-access states of being and circumstances. The photographs are, we think, not merely a documentation of facts on the ground, but also a vision. The choice of abandoning overall control of the image, putting ourselves at the mercy of Brooklyn’s ever-changing environment, was inspired by Robert Frank’s From the Bus, New York (1958) – and by our desire to explore the social landscape of Brooklyn, our adopted city since 2007. 

 

Gaia & Alessandro were both born and raised in Italy, and have both adopted Brooklyn as their home city. Alessandro’s photography has appeared in leading news magazines and has received many awards, most recently, Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3). Gaia’s photography takes a conceptual approach to the image as cultural artifact and includes video and installation. Their book, Brooklyn Buzz, was a POYi 2013 Finalist for Best Photography Book.

 

Photos © Alessandro Cosmelli; © Gaia Light.