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18th Street Billboard Returns!

It’s been almost ten years since an artwork appeared on the 18th Street Billboard, one of my favorite public art platforms in the city. (Earlier this month I looked back on photos of pigeons I’ve taken since the park opened, in anticipation of the next work in my other favorite spot, The Plinth. Iván Argote’s Dinosaur is coming there in September.)

On September 3rd, Glenn Ligon’s Untitled (America/Me) will go up at 18th Street, and in anticipation of the billboard’s return — what happy news! — I’m posting some of my favorites from across the years, with hearty thanks to Cecilia Alemani, chief curator and High Line Art director, for bringing back this singular exhibit space. These are in no particular order, except I’ve started at the beginning, with Joel Sternfeld, the High Line’s muse.

For a look at other works — including opera, sculpture, and more — visit my companion website, HighLineBookcom.

The 18th Street Billboard, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Joel Sternfeld, "Landscape With a Path: A Railroad," June 2011
Joel Sternfeld, “Landscape With a Path: A Railroad,” June 2011
18th Street Billboard, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Faith Ringgold, "Groovin' High," May 2014
Faith Ringgold, “Groovin’ High,” May 2014
Billboard at 18th Street, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Darren Almond, "FullMoon@North Sea," during a nor'easter in October 2011
Darren Almond, “FullMoon@North Sea,” during a nor’easter in October 2011
The Billboard at 18th Street, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Robert Adams, "Nebraska State Highway," August 2011
Robert Adams, “Nebraska State Highway,” August 2011
18th Street Billboard, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Jonas Wood, "Shelf Still Life," January 2014
Jonas Wood, “Shelf Still Life,” January 2014
The 18th Street Billboard, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Anne Collier, Developing Tray #2, February 2015
Anne Collier, Developing Tray #2, February 2015
Billboard at 18th Street, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Ryan McGinley, "Blue Falling," April 2013
Ryan McGinley, “Blue Falling,” April 2013
Billboard at 18th Street, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Elad Lassry, "Women (065, 055)," August 2012
Elad Lassry, “Women (065, 055),” August 2012
Billboard at 18th Street, photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Paola Pivi, Untitled (zebras), December 2012
Paola Pivi, Untitled (zebras), December 2012
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Pigeons on the High Line

I love The Plinth, the High Line’s public art platform that stretches across Tenth Avenue at 30th Street. In honor of the just-announced, upcoming (in October) commission — a giant pigeon by artist Iván Argote titled Dinosaur — I’m posting some of my favorite pigeon-on-the-High Line photos from the past 15 years. They show up everywhere, in all the iconic places, and are our true neighbors in New York City. I admit to loving them.

Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Munching on Clerodendrum trichotomum, June 2012
Munching on Clerodendrum trichotomum, June 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Perching on smokestacks, sometimes with a quizzical gaze. These were in the Flyover, October 2016
Perching on smokestacks, sometimes with a quizzical gaze. These were in the Flyover, October 2016
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Either admiring Richard Artschwager's Blps or checking out naughty behavior in The Standard Hotel. This was in March 2013
Either admiring Richard Artschwager’s Blps or checking out naughty behavior in The Standard Hotel. This was in March 2013
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Pigeons walking the rails, December 2016
Walking the rails, December 2016
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Pigeons posing with an architectural backdrop, March 2012
Posing with an architectural backdrop, March 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. Pigeons drawing our eye to the rail markings in the Gansevoort Woodland, March 2012
Drawing our eye to the rail markings in the Gansevoort Woodland, March 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. An albino pigeon and friend in the 14th Street Passage, February 2020
An albino pigeon and friend in the 14th Street Passage, February 2020
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. A pigeon taking flight off Sarah Sze's marvelous art exhibit, "Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat)," April 2012
Taking flight off Sarah Sze’s marvelous art exhibit, “Still Life with Landscape (Model for a Habitat),” April 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. A pigeon taking a bird bath in the water feature on the Sun Deck, April 2012
Taking a bird bath in the water feature on the Sun Deck, April 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. A pigeon perching quietly, and alone, near the billboard at 18th Street, April 2012
Perching quietly, and alone, near the billboard at 18th Street, April 2012
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. A beautiful spotted pigeon, hiding in the Gansevoort Woodland, June 2013
A beautiful spotted pigeon, hiding in the Gansevoort Woodland, June 2013
Photo by Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line. A pigeon hanging out in the garden after Cutback, perhaps admiring the work of the volunteers, March 2016
Hanging out in the garden after Cutback, perhaps admiring the work of the volunteers, March 2016
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The Gansevoort Pumping Station

A new, 3rd, edition of On the High Line has just been published by Fordham University Press / Empire State Editions, and it’s in many ways an entirely new book. I built a companion website that has more than 650 photos — historic, contemporary, aerial and rooftop — at HighLineBook.com, and you’ll find lots more information about the book there.

During the course of my research I learned a lot more about the history of this landscape so many of us love so dearly, and I wanted to share one story that particularly captivated me. I’m pretty sure that the very first essay I wrote as a child was about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, so in a way I’m coming full circle here. To begin, have a look at the Gansevoort Pumping Station in the first decade of the 21st century; it’s the handsome brick building in the center of the farmers’ market:

Farmers’ Market at Gansevoort Street, circa 1910s. Courtesy NY Public Library

Designed by the architectural firm Bernstein & Bernstein, this station had five pumps, each of which could deliver 2,700 gallons a minute through the city’s High-Pressure Hydrant system, which was developed in 1909. On Saturday, March 25, 1911, workers at this station were notified of a devastating fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, and the FDNY raised the water pressure in the hydrant system to help members battle the fire in a building that no sprinklers. One hundred and forty-six garment workers were killed that day, including 123 women and girls, many of whom were young Italian, Eastern European, and Jewish immigrants.

Photo by Efrain Gonzalez, used with permission
Photo: Efrain Gonzalez, used with permission

In later years the Gansevoort Pumping Station became a cold-storage warehouse, part of the municipally operated Gansevoort Market Meat Center, and in 1984 Premier Veal moved in. Efrain Gonzalez’ photo below shows how it was soon decorated by a Lower East Side graffiti artist who painted murals of cows on the sides of the building. These were, in later years, targeted with paintballs by animal activists.

Photo: Efrain Gonzalez, used with permission

The station was torn down in 2011 to make way for the new Whitney Museum. Sitting below that magnificent building on Gansevoort Street, designed by architect Renzo Piano, is another layer of High Line history.

Aerial view of the Whitney Museum of Art. Photo courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art
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Old Paintings in a New Light

A number of years ago I took this photo of a woman painting a painting of a woman painting a painting in the European paintings wing of the Metropolitan Museum.

I thought of her yesterday morning when I had the great joy of attending the Met’s press preview in advance of the re-opening of the European Paintings Galleries, which the museum’s director, Max Hollein, described as “a completely new re-hang,” in which the curators “gave renewed attention to women artists” and took into account histories of class, gender, race, and religion. The goal of the show “Look Again: European Paintings 1300-1800″ was to create new cultural and artistic dialogs outside the more traditional focus of national schools of art and geographic distinctions. The galleries have been closed, for the most part, over the past 5 years as the Met renovated the many skylights — they embrace a total of 30,000 square feet — that make this wing so distinct. It was a beautiful, sunny morning and every space was filled with natural light. I had to lie on a bench to get this shot (you can see my left sneaker peeking out…) and the security nicely ignored me as I made myself comfortable. This is a place I’ve loved since childhood.

You need a lifetime to appreciate the nearly 800 works in these 45 galleries, many of which have been restored or borrowed from other departments in the Met. (According to curator Stephan Wolohojian, they extend over 2 acres and represent 9,000 gallons of paint.) My favorite gallery is “The Artist’s Studio,” which features ten paintings made between 1538 and 1955 showing the creative work in process. The featured work is Kerry James Marshall’s monumental “Untitled (Studio),” and also includes a few works by women, including a wonderful self-portrait by Elaine de Kooning (from 1946).

Kerry James Marshall, Untitled (Studio), 1956
Elaine de Kooning, Self-Portrait, 1946

Most striking about this new wing is the adjacencies the Met’s curators achieved, which feel surprising and modern in a space that also feels unequivocally timeless. There are too many to mention, but a stunning example is Picasso’s “The Blind Man’s Meal” from 1903, which hangs next to El Greco’s “The Vision of St. John.” Another pairing, on the same wall, puts Picasso’s “The Actor” (1904-05) next to El Greco’s “Saint Jerome as Scholar” (1610).

Gallery 619. Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art

In another gallery, Max Beckman’s modern triptych, “The Beginning” (1946-49) hangs side-by-side with Jean Bellegambe’s “The Cellier Altarpiece” from 1509.

Max Beckmann, The Beginning, 1946-49 and Jean Bellegambe, The Cellier Altarpiece, 1509

The new galleries, filled with old favorites and new surprises, open on November 20th.

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Public Art + Public Beach

Looking west, David Hammons' "Day's End" and the public beach. Photo: Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line
Looking west, David Hammons’ “Day’s End” and the public beach

This week the newest park in the Hudson River Park system, Gansevoort Peninsula, opened on the former Pier 52, just south of Little Island and across the highway from the Whitney Museum. I will be writing more about this place, and its long, strange, history, but for now I offer some pictures and a few thoughts.

If you’ve lived in New York City for your entire life, as I have, the idea of a beach in Manhattan is pretty outrageous. I was dubious about this one from the moment it was announced several years ago, but going there on a hot, sunny day and seeing the happiness abounding — in folks of all ages — had a softening effect. This place is a little miracle.

A little girl plays in the sand at Gansevoort Peninsula. Photo: Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line
A little girl plays in the sand at Gansevoort Peninsula

The best part of Gansevoort Peninsula can’t be experienced through photographs: it’s the sound of the waves of the Hudson River lapping against the rip-rap. Yes, there’s garbage and all kinds of junky stuff washing up with the water, but this is New York City. We expect that. Soon there will be droves of kayakers, paddle boarders and kite surfers stepping off the broad, smooth stones that were placed here for easy launching into the river.

Another thing I love about this park is the way David Hammons’ “Day’s End” sculpture, a work that memorializes the history of the piers in West Chelsea, casts its long shadow across the beach. It’s here, but not here, just like the pier it replaced. And lest you forget you’re in New York City, the park’s designers have helpfully placed a manhole cover at the western edge of the beach, in the boardwalk. See photo below and, as always, click to enlarge the image.

Looking east on Gansevoort Peninsula, with the shadow of "Day's End" crossing the sand. Photo: Annik LaFarge, author of On the High Line
Looking east, with the shadow of “Day’s End” crossing the sand

But my favorite part of Gansevoort Peninsula is its history. Soon I’ll be sharing more photographs, including some rare images I found in the Municipal Archives, and telling the fascinating and truly strange history of Thirteenth Avenue. This park occupies the last patch of the lost avenue, and its history is truly remarkable. More soon.

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Frederic Church’s SkyCam

The Olana Historic Site, home to Hudson Valley School painter Frederic Church, just published my article about why this landscape matters so much in the American story. As readers of this blog know, I mostly write about urban landscapes here, primarily the High Line. But 120 miles north, just up the Hudson River, is another beloved landscape, one that has been a second home to me for many decades. This is the link to my article on Olana’s website, where you’ll also find — here — the addictive and marvelous “SkyCam,” a live-streaming camera placed on a stanchion outside Church’s studio by the folks who manage this glorious place.

The Skycam offers a 24/7/365 view of a particular “bend in the river” that was important to Church and also played a key and unprecedented role in the fight to stop a nuclear power plant that would have been built in Olana’s viewshed. I became somewhat obsessed with the SkyCam during the pandemic, and collected more than 400 screenshots that show the same, fixed, view in different light, times of day, seasons, and weather conditions. During those days the camera captured the essence of those first months of lockdown: the fact that we were fixed in place but everything was constantly changing around us. Olana graciously gave me permission to share some of them here. I’ve assembled them in collages to make it easy to see the dramatic shifts that occur as time goes by.

Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
Views from the OLANA EYE Skycam, OLANA.org/OLANAEYE 
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