We started with the Julie Saul Gallery in particular to see Reinier Gerritsen's photography exhibit, "The Last Book." On display were a handful of high-definition subway scenes featuring people reading. Generally speaking, the readers were engrossed in their books (except for one who seemed to be desperately seeking relief from an assigned reading by taking a look at the back cover), but there was almost always someone else in frame who was fully aware of the photographer. In one instance, someone had obscured his own face by taking a photo of the photographer with his phone (and the phone was enveloped or encased in a decorative sleeve). It was fun to try to read the actual passages of the books, even where the title and author were obscured. We also noticed that more colors in clothing and headgear were on display than NYC's monochromatic reputation allows for. It was interesting, but we wished more works were on display. There was an accompanying abecedarian newsletter of sorts, which provided head shots of books by author, in alphabetical order. So there were obviously more works in the series.... And in fact the exhibit is accompanying the release of a book called "The Last Book." So Mr. Gerritsen perhaps wouldn't want to steal his own thunder, I suppose, by allowing everyone to see all the images in person.
There were some interesting displays on other floors as well. I really liked the intricate wire sculptures held together with beads (Bill Smith's "Synthetic BioStructure" at the PPOW). They channeled complex chemical/molecular structures, but at the same time looked like they could almost be made with a very, very large wire bracelet kit.
Down the street, I really liked the Sebastião Salgado photography exhibit at the Yancey Richardson Gallery. Really beautiful. Some of them were printed in a way that looked like they might have been drawn with pencil. My favorite, perhaps was this one:
There was no description posted on the walls at the gallery that I could see, but the International Center of Photography describes this photo as: "Sebastião Salgado, Iceberg between Paulet Island and the South Shetland Islands on the Antarctic Channel. At sea level, earlier flotation levels are clearly visible where the ice has been polished by the ocean’s constant movement. High above, a shape resembling a castle tower has been carved by wind erosion and detached pieces of ice. The Antarctic Peninsula, 2005."
In the back room, there were two works by Kahn & Selesnick from their "Truppe Fledermaus" series. The work "King of Weeds" made me think of the Green Man. Next to it, this figure, dressed in cards in a desert landscape, struck me as truly surreal:
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