Vague Terrain: Manhattanville Exhibit Reception!!!

This was a wonderful reception attended by over 100 adults and their children....

 

I was blown away by the reception and the camaraderie amongst us and our guests and feel very proud to be part of this beautiful event!!! Many thanks to everyone in the committees with a special thanks to Evelyn, Vern, Liz, Toon.....on and on ;~)> A big hug and good wishes to all.

 

FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE RECEPTION SEE: www.flickr.com/groups/manhattanville/pool/

 

All rights reserved

125th Street IRT elevated subway stop on Broadway

 

Vague Terrain: Manhattanville Exhibit

 

NoMa PHOTO Group

5000 Broadway, Suite A

New York, NY 10034

June 2008

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NoMa Photo Group Presents Vague Terrain: Manhattanville

 

The NoMa Photo (Northern Manhattan Photographers) Group is pleased to announce a group exhibition Vague Terrain: Manhattanville at City College Art Gallery, curated by Maria Politarhos.

 

Vague Terrain: Manhattanville presents the discoveries of an eclectic clan of 23 photographers who spent a year chronicling the architecture, artifacts, and people of Manhattanville. The exhibit identifies this particular urban unit as a viable neighborhood. It is a photographic testimonial of an expedition during a period of

ongoing and dramatic changes for the community. The Harlem area’s boundaries are from 122nd Street to 135th Street between the Hudson River and St. Nicholas Park.

“Terrain vague” is the term coined by architect and critic Ignasi de Sola-Morales to describe urban environments full of ambiguous spaces—where there is beautiful tension between an area’s architecture and its environment, where the space is in some way strange, unresolved, or unsettling.

 

Photographers: Evi Abeler, Brother Anthony-Francis, Christopher Auger-Dominguez, Vern Ballard, Elizabeth Borda, Greg Brophy, Dawn Chase, Maggie Clarke, Matthew Evearitt, Peter Ferko, Evelyn Fernandez, Mike Fitelson, Lenny Garcia, Simeon Gilmer, Karen Green, Rebeca Lebkoff, Caren Litherland, Eliud Martinez, Michael Palma, Robert Polanco, Sirin Samman, Tom Stoelker, and Ivette Urbaez.

 

City College Art Gallery Hours: Monday - Thursday, 12 – 6pm

- more -

City College Art Gallery

Compton Goethals Hall

140th Street & Amsterdam Avenue

New York City

 

June 18 - July 17, 2008

Reception: Wednesday, June 25, 6 - 9PM

 

For further information contact:

Vern Ballard, (646) 302-1176

email: NoMaPhoto@gmail.com

 

Photo NoMa Group:

Brother Anthony-Francis

Christopher Auger-

Domínguez

Elizabeth Borda

Greg Brophy

Bob Cain

Dawn Chase

Marjorie J. Clarke Ph.D.

Steven Day

Evelyn Fernandez

Mike Fitelson

Lenny Garcia

Karen Greene

Richard Herrera

Michael Palma

Amir Parsa

Robert Polanco

Rojelio Reyes Rodriguez

Tom Stoelker

Ivette Urbaez

Mario Vivas

August 31, 2007

 

To Whom It May Concern:

NoMa Photo Group, comprised of photographers living and

working in Northern Manhattan, is undertaking a documentary

project on the neighborhood commonly known as Manhattanville,

an area roughly bounded by W. 125th and W. 135th Streets,

Broadway and 12th Avenue. It’s a neighborhood that is at the

center of much potential change in the near future.

Over the next few months, our photographers will document

the streetscapes, buildings, residents, and workers of this longstanding

community, preserving what it looks like at a moment in

time. This record will serve a similar role as photographs of the

original Penn Station and old financial district do now: reminding

future generations what forgotten New York once looked like.

We are approaching this project through the urban planning

concept of “terrain vague,” exploring the role that older buildings

play in the urban infrastructure as a counterpoint to homogenous,

planned development.

 

NoMa Photo Group is comprised of working photographers who

believe that the responsible uses of photography – as a form of

art or tool for communication – can help us better understand the

world we live in. The individual photographers undertook this

project as volunteers and have not received outside financial, or

other, support. We appreciate your assistance in helping us complete our

documentary project.

NoMa Photo Group

Page 2

NoMa Photo Group Presents

Vague Terrain: Manhattanville

 

Background Details:

“Each photographer, guided by their personal vision, explored Manhattanville to discover and to reveal its people and structures as anthropologists and archaeologists might,” explains group spokesman Vern Ballard. “For our group this is not merely intended to be a documentary or journalistic project, nor is it just a collection of artistic and political statements.” The group employs a gamut of cameras: Holga, 35mm, medium format, Polaroid, digital. They utilize darkroom and digital workflows, as well as special techniques. The results are as varied as the group itself. “Initially, there were a lot of desolate urban landscapes,” recalls Ballard, “but that changed midway through the project when Rebecca Lepkoff asked, ‘Where are the people?!’” Lepkoff is a founding member of the group. Beginning in the 1920s she established a reputation by chronicling the Lower East Side. As a result the exhibit evolved into a body of abstract, architectural, graphic, street, urban landscape, and environmental portraits, including people. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Manhattanville was the site of bustling industrial and commercial

activity. Commuters were levitated through Manhattanville via the Broadway elevated subway and the Riverside Drive Viaduct. One hundred and twenty-fifth Street had a port on the Hudson. Two auto assembly plants, the Nash and Studebaker Buildings, were at 133rd and Broadway. According to local lore, the Nash Building was retooled to accommodate the Manhattan Project. Each of these architectural relics is featured

in the foreground and background of the show. In recent years, Manhattanville’s nondescript gas stations, automotive repair shops, bus depots, store fronts,

and storage facilities have given way to epicurean delights, such as Fairway’s gourmet emporium and a handful of hip restaurants. The signs of evolution have been eclipsed by the struggle between Columbia University’s 30-year, multi billion-dollar expansion plan and storage magnate Nick Sprayragen’s refusal to dislodge his family business, in spite of the threat of eminent domain. Other epoch-shifting forces of

gentrification have left many residents, local business owners, neighborhood preservationists, and community activists apprehensive about their ability to maintain Manhattanville’s character and affordability. These forces provide the subtext of today’s Manhattanville. Few doubt they will jeopardize many aspects of the Manhattanville depicted in this exhibition. In 2008, Manhattanville is a prime example of a “Vague Terrain,” not only because the place itself is “unsettled,” but because its future is as well. Two opposing visions generally polarize the discussion of vague

spaces in areas such as Manhattanville. The first decries the disorder, decay, and blight they represent in the city. The second, by contrast, highlights their potential interest as livable spaces where artistic, religious, and cultural freedoms flourish. Manhattanville is our “vague terrain.”

 

 

 

For further information contact:

Vern Ballard, (646) 302-1176

email: NoMaPhoto@gmail.com

 

Done