photography | Untapped Cities

02/16/13 10:20am

Untapped Staff Picks: New York’s Underground Combat League and Architecture Piracy in China

This is a round-up of our favorite links this week curated by the Untapped Cities’ staff includes New York City’s Underground Combat League and architecture piracy in China.

NEW YORK

Catch it before it’s gone. Currently on exhibition at The New York Historical Society is Keith Haring’s Paper Lantern at the Luce Center. [New York Historical Society]

Ready for a fight? Here is your chance to go behind the scenes of New York City’s Underground Combat League. [New York Natives]

Looking for a belated Valentine’s Day treat? Head over to the Brooklyn Sewage Treatment Plant for tours. [CBS Local]

PARIS

Prepare to see The City of Light like you have never seen it before: color photos of Paris in the 1900s. [The Huffington Post]

GLOBAL

The remarkable story of architecture piracy in China. [Spiegel Online]

architecture, china, photography

Arts & Culture

by matthew parker

02/15/13 10:31am

J1: A New Cultural Centre in Marseille

by matthew parker

Paris, Urban Getaway

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J1Entrance_Marseille_UntappedCities_MatthewParker_

The J1 Exhibit in Marseille takes place inside a retrofitted ferry terminal still in use

One month after the fanfare of Marseille’s inauguration as Capital of Culture, an old ferry terminal humbly refitted to hold temporary exhibitions has proven to be an unexpected success.

40,000 people have clambered up the rickety steps to the entrance of J1 in Marseille. They’ve come not only to see the exhibits but also to enjoy the wonderful views it affords of the ferry boats docked directly alongside. Indeed, as you approach the J1, you have to be careful not to take a wrong turn, for the ground floor is still used for passengers disembarking the boats from Corsica or North Africa. Entering on the upper level, cafes, bookshops and photography exhibitions suddenly fill a vast space that until just three months ago was a forgotten, derelict site.

The cavernous entrance hall to the J1.

As you wander through a photo exhibition of Marseille in J1, it is hard to forget that you are in the middle of a working harbour. Beyond the windows that flank the building, huge passenger ships sound their horns preparing to leave. I spot a cleaner on a ferry bound for Algeria, fluffing pillows in preparation for the guests. Turning back to the exhibition, I suddenly understand the enthusiasm amongst locals for this unique space. Not only does the J1 demonstrate a desire to reclaim the city in imaginative new ways, but the very position of this hangar reminds you of Marseille’s raison d’etre as a port.

Ferries from Corsica and North Africa still disembark passenger on the lower levels of J1

Ferries from Corsica and North Africa still disembark passengers on J1′s lower levels

Walking around, boats and the sea are constantly reflected – complimenting the exhibits that focus on Marseille’s role as a port.

The exhibitions reflect this, displaying locals’ photography of the city from many different points of view, but often with the sea serving as a main character. The centrepiece exhibition, ‘Méditerranées, is a journey into 11 ports that border this sea, representing their myriad cultures through film, animation and writing. Wondering into the bookshop, this reflection on local cultures continues in books charting Marseille and her relationship with the sea, from ancient history to the present day.

Bookshop, Cafe and Exhibtions fill this once derelict terminal hall

Bookshop, Cafe and Exhibtions now fill this once derelict terminal hall

With such a successfully reinvented space, it seems an enormous shame that the J1 will close for the summer season. Only ever meant to serve as a temporary space until the end of 2013, the organisers deemed it too expensive to install air conditioning for a building that without, will roast under the Mediterranean sun. Nevertheless a new exhibition will open this Autumn and with it will no doubt raise new questions about J1′s uncertain future. Just a month after opening, people are already calling for the space to be kept indefinitely, displaying their desire for Marseille to reclaim its unused space for good and consolidate her new-found reputation as a cultural hub.

Read more about another temporary work by Tadashi Kawamata in Bordeaux kept permanent with community support. Get in touch with the author @ManInMarseille and check out his blog, The Man from Mars(eille).

capital of culture, Marseille, photography

Architecture

by rachel alban

02/15/13 8:11am

Ethereal Photographs of Central Park Before Sunrise

by rachel alban

New York

6 Comments

At Untapped Cities, we show you the unique “untapped” places that are off-the-beaten path. But we also like to show you new ways to look at well-known places, like last week’s post on Prospect Park’s Lookout Hill which has a view of Coney Island. Today, we look at Central Park before sunrise.The first surprising thing about Central Park at that hour is how it can be at once blissfully quiet, yet full of life. Runners, bikers, and dog owners populate the main trails, while birdwatchers and fellow photographers dot the more remote areas. Ice-skaters not surprisingly begin their day early as well.

The park opens at 6 am, and at this time of year, sunrise is around 6:45 am (check actual sunrise times before heading out). The actual sunrise is not often visible from inside the park, as the skysrapers block the horizon from most vantage points. Nonetheless, this does not detract from the experience. Especially on foggy days, the early morning light makes it absolutely magical.

Here are some photos from my recent expeditions, mostly in the South East quarter of the park. I hope that you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Ducks near Gapstow Bridge one early, foggy morning.

Buildings across the street from inside the south east corner of the park.

A popular place for runners, The Reservoir looks stunning in the fog.

The Mall, one of the most trafficked areas of the park, belongs to the dogs and their humans at this hour.

Under Bethesda Terrace, a peaceful space.

The iconic Bow Bridge on a crisp, cloudy winter morning.

American Elm trees on the morning of a particularly colorful sunrise.

Finally a glimpse of the sun! Taken 45 minutes after sunrise, from around 72nd street in the middle of the park.

Sunrise over snowy Bethesda Terrace.

See more photography from Rachel Fawn Alban.

central park, photography, sunrise

Arts & Culture

by luke kingma

02/11/13 9:36pm

Sunday in Chinatown – 農曆新年 (Chinese New Year)

by luke kingma

Food & Drink, New York

1 Comment

For me, the ‘regular’ New Year has always been supremely disappointing. Due in part to globally inflated expectation, the night has never lived up to the description my co-workers provide in the annual ‘New Year’s Eve in East Williamsburg!’ email chain. If you’re new to the city, this means you’ll probably end up in some ‘charming’ warehouse off the Graham Avenue stop with 60 people you’ll never see again.

You’ll begin to take stock of the evening at 11pm, 30 minutes after half your friends go down (hard) for the count. Following a midnight ‘champagne toast’ that was supposed to be included in the $150 ticket fee, you’ll wander home, shocked that you fell for it. And then you’ll do it all again next year.

Chinese New Year, however, is different. Strip away the expensive parties and sharp wardrobes, add a few dozen homemade Chinese lion costumes and 400 million confetti launchers, and you’ll be getting close. Though I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy several Chinese New Year celebrations in New York City, I knew I had to go all out this year. And we’re just getting started.

Little Chinese Lions Celebrate The New Year

We met at Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street at 10:30am, 2 (or possibly 36) hours after we should have gotten there. The wait at Chinatown’s most lavish Dim Sum restaurant was, according to the hostesses, 1 hour. We would later discover that this was a perpetual waiting time, one that would never actually come. Jing Fong is always busy; on the New Year, it’s JFK hopped up on natural Chinese energy supplements.

A Dim Sum Cart Makes The Rounds At Oriental Garden

Since we wanted to eat before the day was over, we walked next door to Oriental Garden. At 1/75 the size of Jing Fong, we were surprised that the wait was as short as it was. After eating through 16-20 amazing plates, we were shocked. Over the course of an hour, we sampled lotus leaf sticky rice, chive, seafood, taro, and pork dumplings, stuffed eggplant, baked roast pork buns, stuffed spicy peppers, and plenty of other Dim Sum selections. Everything (yes, everything) was wildly delicious, and we all walked out for less than $20.

A Few Of The Many Dim Sum Dishes At Oriental Garden

Our next destination was Mott street, just one block west, where a celebration was brewing. Chinese vendors battling to sell 2/$5 confetti launchers could be heard from Bowery to Broadway, and men in ornately detailed Chinese lion costumes traveled door to door to help local businesses usher in an auspicious new year. All the while, delighted children collected decorated envelops full of good luck coins and one dollar bills. The crescendo came with the arrival of a gigantic hand-made snake that wove through the crowd to mark the beginning of its year.

The Snake Celebrates Its Year

But it was among the brave, fallen confetti launchers on Mott Street where I found it – the greatest purchase I’ve ever made, and the greatest purchase I’ll still have made by time I reach my death bed, likely 150-200 years from now. I’m speaking, of course, of my own personal Chinese lion mask. See figure below for more information.

Yes this is me. I wish you could see my smile. ($35)

Though I was not born into this culture, I’m endlessly grateful that I have been welcomed into it by Chinatown’s locals. With the mask on, I transformed entirely. I spent the rest of the afternoon quite literally parading around, mimicking more experienced lions, jumping in photos (by request or otherwise), and genuinely becoming part of a culture I have grown to respect so much.

Augustin Fires Confetti Into The World

5 hours later, with a lifetime’s worth of confetti forever sewn into my clothing, I left the celebration and traveled back to Harlem. But the celebration didn’t leave me. Though New York’s biggest New Year celebration in Flushing is still 5 days away, Mott Street on Chinese New Year is a pretty close second, and I know I’ll be back every year for as long as I’m able. And I hope you will, too. Happy New Year!

Group Shot! Some Amazing People I Met Sunday

Don’t forget to try out Oriental Garden!

Oriental Garden [Map]

14 Elizabeth Street
New York, NY 10013
212.619.0085

Read more of Luke Kingma’s Sunday in Chinatown column.

china, Chinatown, chinese new year, dim sum, dragon, photography

Arts & Culture

by julia vitullo-martin

01/31/13 9:25am

Six Eminent Photographers Look Back at the Bronx

by julia vitullo-martin

New York

4 Comments

Bordered by the curving Harlem River, the Bronx is the only borough to be attached to the mainland.

How to make sense of what happened to the Bronx in the 1960s and ‘70s? The violence, the abandonment, the fires, the astounding destruction of property—all in a borough of New York once renowned for its stately boulevards, handsome housing stock, glorious parks, and extraordinary public transportation.

Now six photographers of Puerto Rican heritage—Joe Conzo Jr, Ricky Flores, Ángel Franco, David Gonzalez, Edwin Pagán and Francisco Molina Reyes II—who grew up in the South Bronx have compiled an exhibit of their photos from the 70s through the 90s. Seis Del Sur: Dispatches from Home, mounted by the Bronx Documentary Center, permits the photos to speak for themselves, sometimes accompanied by sparse captions but always avoiding maudlin commentary.

David Gonzalez discusses Joe Conzo Jr’s photo of Bronx musicians Ray Barreto, Tito Puente, Machito, Joe Quijano, Charlie Palmeri and Johnny Pacheco at Beau’s Restaurant in 1980.

This austere style reflects an admirable self-discipline, given the deeply emotional character of the events. “Over the last 30 years, the Bronx has taken every conceivable body blow a community can take,” said New York Times reporter and photographer Gonzalez at the Jan. 19 opening. “And guess what? We’re still standing.”

Conzo photographed The Popper at Roseland in 1980 when hip hop had just been imported to Manhattan from the Bronx, and few onlookers were 100% sure what it was.

If you didn’t live through the bad times you might not be willing to believe that Flores’s shot of the 6 train in 1984 was real–but it was. The MTA had basically given up on maintenance and safety.

Ángel Franco once told the New York Times that while there were good cops and bad cops, the minute a child was involved the cops were there to help. Here officers carry a boy who had been caught in crossfire from a drug war, shot in the chest while riding his bike.

In Pagan’s poignant photo a woman carrying succulents and burdens walks beneath the El line.

Art or vandalism? A debate then and now, nicely illustrated by Francisco Molina Reynes’s photo.

Clasped in a tango embrace, dancers in Mott Haven in 1979 express Gonzalez’s view that despite everything the Bronx still stands.

Smiling Bronx teens sitting in front of Jose Ortega’s mosaic murals–One Race, One World, One Universe–will welcome you to the MTA’s station for the 2 or 5 trains at 149th Street & Third Avenue.

GETTING THERE: The Bronx Documentary Center is at 614 Courtlandt Avenue (at 151st Street). You can take either the 2 or the 5 train to 3rd Avenue and 149th Street (do not get off at 149th & Grand Concourse), walk two blocks to 151st, take a left, trudge up the hill to Courtlandt. The BDC is on the corner.

Hours: 4:00-7:00 p.m, Thurs & Fri; 1:00-5:00 p.m., Sat & Sun, through March 8, 2013.

abandoned, architecture, Bronx, crime, graffiti, history, MTA, photography

Arts & Culture

by kate kelly

01/29/13 11:41am

Rare Color Photography of Early 20th Century Paris

by kate kelly

Paris

No Comments

There is something so curious about seeing images of the early 1900s in color – it makes the era feel more tangible. When I initially saw these photographs of turn of the century Paris on Curious Eggs, I was struck by the fact that, somewhere in the back of my head, I seemed to think that the people of the time moved through a hazy world of sepia. I don’t think that the addition of color necessarily detracts from my romantic illusions (or delusions), but it certainly makes the era feel more “real.” It’s almost like we could hop in a zeppelin and visit, which, to be honest, is all I’ve ever really wanted.

Below you will see a selection of favorites, though everything in this gallery, it seems, is historically rich, engaging, and just plain beautiful. Be sure to check out the original source, Paris1914, for more visual delectation.

Quintessential Parisian Street

history, photography

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