Exhibition: ‘Picturing New York: Photographs from The Museum of Modern Art’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin

Exhibition dates: 25th November 2009 – 7th February 2010

.

Many thankx to Monica Cullinane and the Irish Museum of Modern Art for allowing me the reproduce photographs from the exhibition below.

.

.

.

Times Wide World Photos
American, active 1919 – 1941
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Louis Out for a Stroll
September 25, 1935
Gelatin silver print, 8 ¾ x 6 5/8″ (22.2 x 16.8 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. The New York Times Collection.

.

.

Helen Levitt
American, 1913-2009
New York
1982
Gelatin silver print, 9 9/16 x 6 7/16″ (24.3 x 16.4 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Gift of Marvin Hoshino in memory of Ben Maddow
© 2009 The Estate of Helen Levitt, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco

.

.

Louis Stettner
American, born 1922
Manhattan from the Promenade, Brooklyn, New York
1954
Gelatin silver print, 12 1/4 x 18 1/4″ (31.1 x 46.4 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the photographer in memory of his brother, David Stettner
© 2009 Louis Stettner, courtesy Bonni Benrubi Gallery, New York

.

.

Cindy Sherman
‘Untitled Film Still #21′
1978

.

.

“An exhibition of 145 masterworks from the photographic collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York , celebrating the architecture and life of that unique city from the 1880s to the present day, opens to the public at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on Wednesday, November 25, 2009. “Picturing New York” draws on one of the most important collections of modern and contemporary photography in the world to celebrate the long tradition of photographing New York, a tradition that continues to frame and influence our perception of the city to this day. Presenting the work of some 40 photographers including such influential figures as Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, Lisette Model, Alfred Stieglitz and Cindy Sherman, the exhibition features both the city and its inhabitants, from its vast, overwhelming architecture to the extraordinary diversity of its people.

The exhibition reflects photographers’ ongoing fascination with New York, a city whose vitality, energy, dynamism and sheer beauty have also inspired innumerable artists, writers, filmmakers and composers. New York’s unique architecture is explored, from elegant skyscrapers to small shop fronts; likewise the life of its citizens, from anonymous pedestrians to celebrities and politicians. The city’s characteristic optimism is caught time and again in these images, even in those taken in difficult times. Together, they present a fascinating history of the city over more than a century, from Jacob Riis’s 1888 view of bandits on the Lower East Side to Michael Wesely’s images taken during the recent expansion at MoMA.

The photographs reveal New York as a city of contrasts and extremes through images of towering buildings and tenements, party-goers and street-dwellers, hurried groups and solitary individuals. “Picturing New York” suggests the symbiosis between the city’s progression from past to present and the evolution of photography as a medium and as an art form. Additionally, these photographs of New York contribute significantly to the notion that the photograph, as a work of art, is capable of constructing a sense of place and a sense of self.

“I am thrilled that ‘Picturing New York ‘will be presented in Dublin  – a city whose vitality, grit, and vibrant artistic community resonates with that of New York ,” said Sarah Meister, Curator in MoMA’s Department of Photography, who organized the exhibition. “In addition, the layout and scale of the galleries at IMMA will allow this story – of New York and photography becoming modern together throughout the twentieth century – to unfold as if chapter by chapter.”

Press release from the Irish Museum of Modern Art website

.

.

Jacob Riis
‘Bandit’s Roost at 59½ Mulberry Street’
1888

.

.

Lewis W. Hine
American, 1874–1940
Welders on the Empire State Building
c. 1930
Gelatin silver print, 10 5/8 x 13 5/8″ (27 x 34.6 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Photography Fund

.

.

Dan Weiner
American, 1919–1959
New Year’s Eve, Times Square
1951
Gelatin silver print, 9 1/4 x 13 3/16″ (23.5 x 33.5 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Sandra Weiner
© 2009 Estate of Dan Weiner

.

.

Unknown
‘Brooklyn Bridge’
1914

.

.

Weegee (Arthur Fellig)
American, born Austria. 1899–1968
Coney Island
c. 1939
Gelatin silver print, 10 5/16 x 13 11/16″ (26.2 x 34.8 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Anonymous gift

.

.

Irish Museum of Modern Art/Áras Nua-Ealaíne na hÉireann
Royal Hospital
Military Road
Kilmainham
Dublin 8
Ireland
Telephone : +353-1-612 9900

Opening hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10.00am – 5.30pm
except Wednesday: 10.30am – 5.30pm
Sundays and Bank Holidays: 12noon – 5.30pm

Irish Museum of Modern Art website