CITY BLOCKS #17. The Messenger
Owner:
Not Listed
Artist
Cooper Ray
44100%
Collection
CITY BLOCKS
44100%
Medium
35mm Photograph B&W
2659%
Camera
Yashica T4 Super
12%
Film
Kodak Tri-X
2148%
Year
2013
511%
Location
New York City
44100%
From
Bike
49%
Borough
Manhattan
3989%
Neighborhood
Lower East Side
12%
Address
157 E Houston Street, New York, NY 10002
12%
Cross Street
Allen Street
12%
Direction Facing
East
511%
Season
Fall
1432%
Condition 1
Snow
614%
Condition 2
Night
12%
Special Trait 1
Track Bike Skid
12%
Special Trait 2
Messenger: Hiromi
12%
This collection of photographs represents my deep interest in the history of place, architecture, and the advent of the skyscraper in the early 20th century. CITY BLOCKS is the result of my cumulative experience as a bicycle courier, growing up in lower Manhattan, and 14+ years of insatiable obsession to know every inch of my city via two wheels. These photographs span years of intentional exploration from ‘on the ground’ research for narrow windows of access, paired with adept daily observations from thousands of hours in the street.
Just like my brakeless track bike, the camera is a pure extension of myself. My camera is always slung around my neck, ready to go, wherever I go. Taking photographs of New York helps me to unpack and digest my complex emotional response to a perpetually changing city, and often times, the brutal human condition that comes along with it.
Allow me share a piece of my story, and a view into the New York that I see.