While making the video that began this project in 1997, it became clear to me that although I have a personal preference for moving images (being a long time cinephile) the subject I was documenting was best suited to photography. Initially, my idea was to create a book made up of purely black and white images, detailing all of the ornamental stone faces I could find in Manhattan. However, by the time I had amassed a collection of over 4,000 images, I had also learned a lot more about my chosen subject and it led me to begin seeking out individuals who embodied the passion some can develop for these unique sculptures.
As my idea for my book evolved and my passion for the subject grew, I made the decision to vastly expand my archive by switching to digital color photography. And so, for the next several years I revisited every face I had previously photographed on film and added hundreds more to my database of addresses by searching the city street by street. By the time I wrapped shooting in early 2014, I had over 15,000 images of these enigmatic stone faces. Next came the task of organizing and refining my photographic library, and then transcribing, writing and assembling and the content I felt should accompany a large collection of my photographs. By late 2014, I finally felt I had a clear enough grasp of how the book could come together to start molding it into shape, and began using Lightroom intensively to manage my photographic collection and experiment with the book module. |
In order to best present my concept for the book, I felt it was important to create a complete mockup that would serve as an unedited first draft and mirror my own experience of discovering these sculptures for myself while learning more about them over a period of seven years. It contains relevant information about these sculptures, the anonymous stone workers who created them, and explains where each of these sculptures can be found (they can easily be viewed in person). I also have incorporated my own experience of spending countless hours photographing on the streets of New York City. In addition, it contains interviews I conducted with four men who had personal ties to New York's stone faces - Ivan Karp, Chris Pellettieri, G. Augustine Lynas and Randall Dana and help to bring the subject to life. The foundation of the book is a large selection of color photographs taken from my archive. All of these elements combine to put a more human face on the subject of these sculptures. It is a book molded by the conversations I would frequently have with passersby who'd stop and ask "What are you shooting?"
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If you are associated with a literary agency or publisher and would like to know more, please contact: Alan Bazin at [email protected]
Photographs and Content by Alan Bazin © 2017