Urban Impressions: The Changing Face of New York in the 1970s

During the 1970s, Berkeley-based photographer, author, and activist Robinson set out to capture the “changing face” of New York, which she notes in her foreword was “in the painful throes of transition.” Primarily divided into two major sections, “The City” and “The People,” Robinson first trains her lens on architectural landscapes, revealing the harsh realities of urban decay. The viewer is transported to an era of 25¢ adult movie arcades, crumbling bricks of demolished facades, and the juxtaposition of an old New York being swallowed by the new, as a modern building rises behind a tenement like a yeti about to devour an unsuspecting trekker. Eerie hallways and ghostly water tower shadows suggest the end times. There’s little room for viewer interpretation: it was a depressed time, emphasized by high-contrast black and white and harsh angles. The second section offers greater character and subtlety. The opening image captures an elderly man, cigarette dangling between his lips, glancing at a gray cat seated beside him in a chair, who in turn stares directly into the lens. The image of a seemingly spontaneous moment offers the first instance of playfulness and warm humanity following the downbeat renderings of buildings. “People” gathers a plethora of images of everyday New Yorkers, communicating the message that while buildings make the city, people give the city life. Photos. (May)