Jewel on the Lower East Side

Eldridge Street Synagogue

In early December I visited the Eldridge Street Synagogue,  a wonderful Moorish-style building,  rich with history and architectural detail. The synagogue first opened its doors on Sept 4, 1887, just in time for the High Holidays.  Hundreds of Russian and Polish immigrants prayed and worshiped freely here for the next fifty years.
From 1920-1940's the membership began to dwindle and the building deteriorated. In the early 1980's a group formed to save this treasure.  In 1996, the building was made  a national historic landmark, Since then, 18.5 million dollars have been raised and The Eldridge Street Synagogue has been restored to its original grandeur. A crowing element of the restoration is a stain-glass window designed by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans.

Dark Room with a View

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I  have been working on a course that I am developing: The History of Photography. My research began with the camera obscura. I am amazed by the amount of information that I was able to gather on the internet and never leave my chair

 All this research got me thinking about the wonder of this simple  and revolutionary device  that was developed during the Renaissance. Camera obscura - literally, a dark room - that light enters and through a pinhole (aperture) and an inverted image is projected on the opposite wall.  This is the basis of all cameras. Artists and astronomers used the camera obscura as a viewing aid  over 200 years before the invention of photography in 1839.

Now,  I am inspired to make a camera obscura. I have worked with a pinhole camera; it's the same concept - only much smaller. I have never transformed a room into a camera. I chose the bathroom of my apartment. I covered the window with black foil and cut  a dime- sized hole from the foil, blocked any light that could leak around the door frame, closed the door and sat in the darkness, waited for the magic image to appear and ...nothing, just a vague spot of light. It was a gray day and there was not enough light. For the next two rainy days I visited  my bathroom / camera obscura and stared at the wall ....nothing.

This morning was bright and sunny. I entered again, sat and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. There it was!  The Williamsburgh Savings Build was projected upside down on my bathroom wall!  To me this is truly a marvel!

From My Window

It seems that at some point, even the most intrepid photographers have taken retreat inside to view, contemplate and record the world from their window. Stieglitz, Steichen, Kertesz, Sudek, Eugene Smith and Ruth Orkin (to name a few) have made photographs of the world outside while perched by a window with their camera.

In February 2011 I moved from Southern California to Brooklyn, New York. Disoriented by the extreme change of local and   I have  retreated to view the world through a window. inside looking out, contemplating the new urban environment.

My window of choice faces the East. The view includes; apartment windows, brick walls, roof tops, a large slice of sky and a magnificent   thirty four story art deco building, Williamsburgh Savings (now called One Hanson).

 I am mesmerized by this building;  a constant in a continuum of change.   It is my timepiece, anchor and true north as I learn to navigate my new life in Brooklyn.

Wiliamsburgh Savings Brooklyn, NY

Spring has sprung !

Spring has sprung and it is seems especially spectacular to me after a long, cold and snowy winter here in Brooklyn. Trees are blossoming (sniff, sniff), so are the   daffodils and tulips. Sidewalk cafes bustling, windows opening and   winter coats are in the closet. Today,  I let my winter white legs out and donned a pair of shorts.  Tomorrow, after a pedicure, I’ll get out my sandals,  renew my wardrobe and psyche to lighter hues and lofty thoughts.

April 24, 2011

Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge with its gothic towers and elegant tapestry of steel cable has been an inspiration to many since it opened in 1883. It is a symbol of our country’s  optimism and the entrepreneurial spirit of the late 19^th century that still inspires us today. I have only known of this eight wonder of the world through books, photographs, paintings, and film.

Today I actually walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, may I add here that I have a fear of bridges. Yes, there is a name for that, gephyrophobia. My deep-rooted infatuation spoke loader than my fear and pushed me on to this adventure.  If they could build it, I can cross it!

March 11, 2011

Ken Burns documentary on Netflix