Christopher Bliss has been photographing New York for thirty years, since the mid 1980s. “New York will always be a historical monument to the changes in our nation, as well as a harbinger of the future. After all, George Washington worshipped at Trinity Church during the pivotal years of the Revolutionary War, just steps away from the site of what would become one of the pivotal scenes of our era, the tragedy of 9/11. Trinity Church still stands…”

Bliss sees the city as a background, its inhabitants secondary to character. People are props, elements of crowding. The photographer focuses on scale and architectural variation (The book is current enough to include the new Vessel at Hudson Yards.) Aerial views abound. Close up textures are sharp, black and white images appealing. (The great shot of Times Square is an exception.) Were he a painter, Bliss might be cubist. Photos emphasize angles (sometimes skewed) in relation to one another.

Central Park comes off well, but with limited geographic scope and missing pivotal icons. Where’s Belvedere Castle, the Delacorte Theater, Naumberg Bandshell, the rowboat pond, Conservatory Garden? Museums get short shrift and neighborhoods are restricted to certain homogenized areas. The Apollo Theater is Harlem’s only recognition.  Greenwich Village storefronts capture some of what we New Yorkers will always remember but not much.

As an overall glimpse, the swathe of New York we see does beckon. Perhaps this is a gift book for out-of-towners who think of The Big Apple as Xanadu, Oz or just “other.”

Photos © 2019 Christopher Bliss. All rights reserved.

Opening Photo Times Square 2018

https://teneues-books.com/iconic-new-york-4

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