Meyerowitz's Empire State

How would I connect a series of photos? Well, I would start at the basics. I could use the same model across all my photos, connecting them non-linearly as the same character is viewed across all the different frames. I could even say the same for location, turning a geographical location into a culmination of various visual elements found around the city (see: Sardegna: Friends & Family on my photography page). I could display my series of photos in a specific order; forcing the viewer to digest them in a pattern I have chosen (a very filmic concept; see: Fahrenheit 2020 also on my Photography page*). I could use colour or theme, motion or geometry, typography or perspective. How about entropy; can chaos bring order?

I'm not talking about a displaying series of messy photos and patting myself on the back for a good day's work. No, I want to create something that doesn't define entropy to organise itself, instead a seemingly random system to link singular projects together. That's why I like Joel Meyerowitz's series of photos.

At first, they seem like individual pieces of street photography. I know that they are all taken in New York, but New York isn't being used as a character, at least not in my opinion. What makes these photos unique is the idea at capturing a single building, the Empire State Building, in as many different ways as possible. It jumps around the frame, sometimes hiding anxiously behind a clock tower or looming off in the distance like an architectural toothpick.

I have always liked experimenting with photography; the idea of telling a story through a timeless** image has always felt like a challenge. Meyerowitz turns a building into a character while also forcing the viewer to read further into the images (although once you have read the title, the connecting factor might seem a little obvious). In most of my photographs I try to link them thematically, tackling the idea or concept that was compelling me at the time. I would love to figure how to have something connecting my imagery with something both so prominent and also hidden, maybe I just need to disorganise my thoughts a little.

Notes

*I'm quite proud of both of these projects. I definitely want to do a more intimate version of Fahrenheit 2020, but I still feel happy with my collection from Sardegna - was it pretentious choosing to spell it that way? At least I didn't write the rest in Italian. I'm sure I'll begin to find faults with them as time goes on.

**Images aren't really timeless, but thats a conversation of its own.