Quietness and tumult, so much a part of our great city, are opposites we are trying to make sense of in our lives. The moments of a hectic workday, or a weekend that has suddenly grown too quiet, have increasing meaning for me through this great principle of Aesthetic Realism: “All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.” I am learning that my best moments with a camera represent the way I want to see all the time.

Nick’s Luncheonette has its own relation of quietness and tumult.  This abandoned storefront is just around the corner from my home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I have loved its wonderful sign. One sunny morning in May there were no cars in front of Nick’s, the three trash cans stood in a row with their lids on, and I felt that at last I could photograph it.

As I look now, I see how the warm low light of early morning creates long diagonal shadows, and how the metal gates on the windows cast S-curves on the faded paper and seem to dance. The mischievous scribbles of graffiti go up and down and the elegant letters of the faded green sign go across. I like the feeling that Nick’s is lively and welcoming. Another photographer commented “You feel that in a minute they will be open for business and that you can go in and have a cup of coffee.”

 

 

"Lamp Post Trio": Walking along the crowded sidewalk south of Exchange Place at lunchtime, I saw these men in the air. I was thrilled, and I had my camera! Fifteen seconds later, they had come down to the ground, and I soon lost sight of them.

But in the photo the three men are there, and I see twirls and mischief in the midst of geometry and space. The worker on the left reaches out with his leg; the worker on the right bends in harmony with the graceful curves of the lamp post; and with his ladder poised, their colleague calls up to them. I took this photo eight years ago, and I go on thinking about it. Because it is a low resolution image, I have silhouetted the figures and printed it out on a rough handmade paper.

I am very proud that these moments of my life are part of this Terrain Gallery exhibition.