: Fifty stark images of brawny men balanced precariously above the
Manhattan skyline manipulating heavy cables, girders and massive
steel equipment are currently on view at the Morris Museum in the
exhibition "The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire
State Building." The silver tone photographs depicting the
American laborer in situ transcend Hine's original assignment to
record the construction of what was then to become the world's
tallest building into eye-grabbing art.
When sociologist, educator and photographer Lewis Wickes Hine was
engaged in 1930 to record the construction of the Empire State
Building, he brought a very different twist to the project. What
was on the face of it a simple recording of the construction of a
building, albeit a spectacular one, turned out to be works of art
that also portray the men who built the edifice, a story played
out against the sky above 1930s New York City.
"'The Rise of a Landmark: Lewis Hine and the Empire State
Building' celebrates one of the most beloved buildings in the
world and a familiar view to residents of the tri-state area,"
said Laura Galvanek, curator of exhibitions at the Morris Museum.
"This exhibition highlights the magnificent architecture of the
Empire State Building, the men who built it and the master
technique of photographer Lewis Hine." The exhibition will remain
on view through March 14.
These are the sorts of pictures that compel those of us who
cannot resist pausing alongside a construction site to peer
through the fence at the progress within. They celebrate labor,
the building that is emblematic of New York City and the city
itself. In the 1930s New York was wide open and in these images
one can see from the tops of the buildings right down to the
passersby on the streets below.
