In “South Street,” photographed in the 1980s, Mensch documented the forces at work to transform the waterfront at the Fulton Market from a nocturnal workingman’s culture to a commercial mall and shopping destination. Internally governed by their own laws and codes of morality, the Fulton Market was the largest seafood market in North America until its dislocation in 2005.
Mensch explored the confluence of corporate, political, and criminal elements competing for the precious real estate below the Brooklyn Bridge at a time of major transformation in Lower Manhattan. She is the only artist, with the exception of writer Joseph Mitchell during the 1940s-1960s, to create in-depth publication(s) of this elusive and secretive “urban tribe.”
“She also knows she can sound as though she is waxing nostalgic for the good old days that were not always so good. Should we yearn for the days of mob control? Of violence? Of men on the docks saying the foulest things imaginable to a young woman with a camera? ‘No, of course not,’ she said. And change is inevitable. What bothers her is this encroaching homogenization, this gradual separation of the city’s present from its past, as if ‘Vinnie The Bone’ was carving bone from meat. South Street and its fish market evoke the earliest days of Manhattan island; open air stalls, a commerce based on halibut and shrimp, crabs and blues; and the salt scented air, uniting city dwellers with the open water.” -Barbara Mensch, “South Street,” photographs of the New York Waterfront Below the Brooklyn Bridge, 1980-1985, 2004-2005.
“‘EVERYTHING IS DISCARDED and NOTHING HAS VALUE,’ Ms. Mensch continued. What is put in its place? As she spoke, the uniqueness of this historic district seemed to melt away like ice chips falling on fish market pavement…” -Dan Barry, interview with Barbara Mensch in “About New York: That Smell? Fish and Sweat Fading Into a Sanitized Future,” The New York Times, April 3, 2004.
Artist Bios
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Barbara G. Mensch
Barbara Mensch is a fine art photographer who probes her subject matter with the curiosity of a detective. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she attended classes at the Brooklyn Museum Studio School, the Art Students League, and Hunter College, where she earned a scholarship to study in Florence, Italy. She then worked as an illustrator at Ms. Magazine and photographed inventory at Knoedler Gallery. As she evolved into a photographer, Mensch was drawn to the retreat of the darkroom and intrigued by translating tonalities in the fine print, rooted in her background in drawing.
In her early work, she explored unconventional ways of shooting with the Polaroid SX70 and exhibiting sequential imagery on tables or the ground. These early works were exhibited at P.S.1, The Kitchen, and The Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art. Her images have been included in publications such as Photography: The Problematic Model, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Exposure Magazine, and others. Her monographs include two books on New York’s legendary Fulton Market, New York Photographs, In The Shadow Of Genius, and her latest publication, A Falling-Off Place — The Transformation of Lower Manhattan.
Organizations
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
Excerpts from “”South Street” and “The Transformation of Lower Manhattan”
Featuring: Barbara G. Mensch
Supported by:
Locations
ON VIEW AT: #38
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
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The views and opinions expressed in this exhibit are those of the exhibition artists and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Photoville or any other participants and partners of the Photoville Festival.
all images credited to : Barbara Mensch Photography
This project is supported, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts.
