I came across this piece on the NYTime’s website this morning (reg requ). It’s an interview and slide show (flash) with the photographer Bruce Davidson regarding his late 70s/early 80s photographs of and in the NYC subway system.

It reminded me of David Crawford’s ‘Stop Motion Studies’ series.

As some may know, MTAA is interested in ‘updates’ of older art work and it’s interesting to read Crawford’s work as an update of Davidson (though I’m certain that Crawford didn’t intend it to be).

If you compare Davidson’s photos to Crawford’s animations both formally (still photo as opposed to sorta-still) and you compare how the subject has changed over the intervening years, you will see a greater narrative develop which neither of the two projects could achieve on their own.

Don’t misunderstand, both projects are brilliantly executed on their own, but the comparison creates a historical arc that adds another fascinating layer. permanent link to this post