FlatFile-RichardSandler

The Eyes of the City – Richard Sandler

The photographs in this show were made in New York City between 1977-2001, just before the proliferation of computers, cell phones, digital cameras and the internet. They depict a complicated time in the recent past that lives in limbo: too young to be historical and too old to resemble contemporary culture. 

NYC was a mess; there was no way to filter the realities of the broken city, and there was no refuge in virtual space. Underground, graffiti tags and spray painting exploded onto every surface and whole subway cars were “bombed,” windows and all. Above and below ground, crime and crack were on the rise, rents were cheap, many souls were homeless, and tourists avoided the city. 

To some, the New York City of the recent past was a hell on Earth, yet to others it was one of New York’s most fertile artistic periods. The streets of Times Square and the East Village, though dangerous, were also a haven for an edgy art scene with dozens of galleries and music clubs.  In mid-town and on Wall Street the rich wore gaudy furs in unprecedented numbers, and like now, the extremes of wealth and destitution were on parade. 

Sandler shot 4 – 5 rolls of film everyday, with one eye out for the lyric and critical juxtaposition, and the other looking to record civic history, itself.

*The Eyes of the City is also the title of Sandler’s book, published by PowerHouse Books, 2016.  All images in the book are available as silver gelatin prints.

(see bio below)

Veiled Woman NYC, 1984. Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Grand Central Terminal NYC, 1990, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

CC Train NYC, 1985, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

RR Train NYC, 1982, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Mortality, 57th St. NYC, 1986, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Furs, 5th Avenue NYC, 1987, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Pissed Woman, 5th Avenue NYC, 1983, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Lower Broadway NYC, 1983, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Subway Kiss NYC, 1987, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Subway Swoon NYC, c1986, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Madison Avenue NYC, 1982, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Van Cleef NYC, 1986, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Subway Noir NYC, 1986, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Hasid and Hipster NYC, 2001, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Three Do’s, 5th Avenue NYC, c1982, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Madman, Queens Plaza NYC, 1982, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

Democratic Convention, San Francisco, 1984, Silver gelatin prints, available as 10″x14″, open edition, $250, 16″x20″, edition of 15, $1000, 20″x24″, edition of 10, $1750

bio Richard Sandler, Catskill NY, is an award winning street photographer and documentary filmmaker. His photographs are in the permanent collections of the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum, the New York Historical Society, and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. His monograph, The Eyes of the City was published in 2016 by PowerHouse Books with a forward by Dave Isay and afterword by Jonathan Ames.

Sandler has directed and shot eight non-fiction videos and films including, “The Gods of Times Square,” “Brave New York” and “Radioactive City.” He was awarded two New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships for still photography, a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship for filmmaking and a New York State Council on the Arts grant for filmmaking.