Noguchi Cube New York City
My life is a massive road trip. Every single day of my photography career has been a road trip. Every single day of my career has been a day that I have seen what I have never seen before; Think Hopper, Nicholson and Fonda; Think“The Lost City of Z”. Take a moment to measure the full moon. Take a moment to eye the sunset and sunrise along the horizons. The enormous collection of adventures, has influenced my manner of taking pictures.
I begin everyday as if it is the “Ruy Lopez” Chess opening. It is among the most famous chess openings for a reason. The discipline plays daily. Begin your day with an opening move that will prove successful. Then imagine the next twenty-five moves before sunset. It is merely what is essential to being a photographer.
I took the 6 train to Fulton Street. An early morning assignment landed me at Broadway and Fulton Street/Liberty Plaza. I walked slightly out of my way to revisit Noguchi’s Red Cube. The Cube is something to commune with. (I have communed with the works by Alfred Stieglitz, David Smith, Jean Tinguely and one thousand more creatives.) It is like having a conversation with Noguchi’s ghost from another time. He was brilliant. I photographed him twenty years prior. Dancing with his ghost is an essential Merlinesque moment; The magician validates my existence- Linking the years past and present together. Standing alone in the skyscraping wilderness of Manhattan can bring out the dreamiest thoughts and sightings. Celtic Faeries often appear in every nook and cranny along the avenues.
I left the “Cube” and strolled. I felt a bit empowered as I stepped onto Pine street. I knew I was entering foreboding glass towers. I could see them waiting for me. But what was next, what might my next move be? My dreams are filled with oddities, but they are my realities.
Harry Cobb: Bank of China #BankofChina #HarryCobb #PeiCobbFreed
A most endearing memory
Many significant architecture firms were in downtown New York. I.M. Pei, Harry Cobb and James Ingo Freed were a major firm. We scheduled three one hour sessions over a few weeks. Each portrait session was a magical meeting with a gentle giant. Each architect was sublimely extraordinary in their own way. When you consider their success and influences, it might seem as if they were matched through algorithms. Each was unique to the core. Each was a champion of their own work. They were a force to wrestle with. I adored each session.
#IMPEI I.M. Pei
I am always the guest. So over three separate sessions almost like with “Stepford Men” we chatted. Legs crossed, a cup of coffee in hand and my time face panicking in my heart. Three intriguing architects held me spellbound. In each case almost to the minute I had to interrupt a beautiful mind. I needed to pause in order to make a picture. I would need a lifetime to entirely enjoy their gift’s. I needed to recall a lifetime of photography to make a bit of magic in fifteen minutes. Wow, those moments caress my heart.
A few minutes past the hour I headed towards the FDR Drive. It was a walk I needed, to separate a photographers’ dream from the shutter screen closing. The portraits were seemingly fast as a thunderclap. I knew I was finished but what was I to make of the day. I might exhale if my eyes could see the thunderclap.
I headed north. I gazed east towards brick faced housing projects. My camera snapped towards broken down cars. My camera gazed west towards midtown bridge suspensions that carried promise. Abbey Lincoln’s “Let up” whispered.
I arrived home with Pei, Cobb and Freed completed for my book: “Portraits of the New Architecture.
It would be hard to imagine 7,500 days just like this one.
#HarryCobb Harry Cobb #architect