Bruce Davidson: Subway [Hardcover]

Arthur Ollman (Author), Bruce Davidson (Photographer), Henry Geldzahler (Contributor), Fred Brathwaite (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2004

Since ground was first broken, New York City's subway system has been the stuff of living legend--and a source of inspiration and fear. This dark, democratic environment provided the setting for photographer Bruce Davidson's first extensive series in color, originally published in 1986. In it, subway riders are set against a gritty, graffiti-strewn background, displayed in tones Davidson described as "an iridescence like what I had seen in photographs of deep-sea fish." Never before had the subway been portrayed in such detail, revealing the interplay of its inner landscape and outer vistas. The images include lovers, commuters, tourists, families, and the homeless. From weary strap hangers to languorous ladies in summer dresses to stalking predators, Davidson's compassionate vision illuminates the stubborn survival of humanity. From the spring of 1980 to 1985, Davidson explored and shot 600 miles of subway tracks. In his own words, he "wanted to transform this subway from its dark, degrading, and impersonal reality into images that open up our experience again to the color, sensuality, and vitality of the individual souls that ride it each day." Now nearly 25 years later, and on the eve of the subway's 100th anniversary, St. Ann's Press is publishing a new edition of Davidson's classic book. This edition adds 43 unseen images to the original book, and includes an introduction by Arthur Ollman of the Museum of Photographic Art in San Diego, and a foreword by Fred Braithwaite (aka Fab Five Freddy), the original graffiti artist. It also includes Bruce Davidson and Henry Geldzahler's original essays.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The intrepid documentary photographer Bruce Davidson, veteran of the civil rights movement and the ghetto ( East 100th Street ), has taken his camera into the New York subways, and has emerged, as might be expected, bereft of a camera. That was a small price to pay for these sensitive and intensely colorful pictures. He hopes that we will see the beauty he found there, but the gritty, seamy images reproduced here will not increase ridership. The bizarre inhabitants of the underground are the majority, with the sober nine-to-five'ers seeming distinctly out of place. In addition to the excellent reproduction quality, this NEA-supported project is enhanced by Davidson's down-to-earth text, a brief afterword, and technical notes. Recommended. Kathleen Collins, Library of Congress
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

The brilliant flash, combined with fluorescent lighting, intense colors and Davidson's probing vision, produced images that are dramatic and at times surreal. (Holly Stuart Hughes Photo District News ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 124 pages
• Publisher: St. Ann's Press (April 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 097136818X
• ISBN-13: 978-0971368187
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,023,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Moving and Beautifully Reproduced Photograghs, May 22, 2004

By 

David Enzel (Chevy Chase, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruce Davidson: Subway (Hardcover)

In 1980, Bruce Davidson began to photograph the New York subway system. He first started photographing in Black and White and then decided that the project required color. Davidson generally asked permission before photographing someone -- ironically the one notable exception was a man Davidson did not know was blind. It is one of my favorite images (p. 54). He offered to send them a print of the picture. Yet most of the photographs do not appear posed. The breadth of life on the New York subway system is impressive. You will see beautiful women, daring and frightening young men, some violence, people dealing with crowded situations, lonely people, business people, elderly people, musicians, graffiti, people in love, street people, an arrest -- in short the full panoply of life in NYC. It's just wonderful. The images are a bit on the dark side which fits the subject. Davidson used a flash -- as this was necessary. Many of the images have too much flash but I did not find this to be more than a modest distraction.

The quality of reproduction is excellent. I learned about the variety of humanity below the ground in New York. The enterprise was not without risk. Someone stole one of Davidson's cameras. The book does not make the NY subway seem to be a safe place but certainly one where it's possible to genuinely connect with the humanity we all share.

Highly recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars extremely well done, a glance of humanity, June 14, 2006

By 

Daniel A. Hollander "Dan" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruce Davidson: Subway (Hardcover)

As an amatuer photographer, this is one of my favorite books of all time. It beautifully captures Subway riders in their natural habitat, making outsiders look strikeingly out of place. This book will not disappoint.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces from Another Time, November 4, 2011

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bruce Davidson: Subway (Hardcover)

American photographer Bruce Davidson was born in 1933 in Oak Park, Illinois to a single mother, who worked in a factory. At age 10, his mother built him a dark room in their basement and Davidson began taking photographs; as he was given the freedom to wander the streets of Oak Park alone. Soon after, he approached a local photographer who taught him the technical nuances of photography, in addition to lighting and printing skills. In his mid-teens, Davidson began to ride Chicago's elevated train system into the city, exploring neighborhoods and the Chicago Loop, observing wide varieties of people, and most importantly developing skills and interests that would be seen in his later photographic works. His works have always been on the leading edge of seeking out the sources of social unrest in the ghettos and in all the civil rights movements, and his ability to non-objectify the people he photographs has made him one of the most realistic of contemporary photographers.

In 1986 the original book SUBWAY was published by Aperture, a collection of images Davidson captured in the subways of New York, focusing on the 'outsiders of society more than the white collar commuters. That award winning book has since become unavailable and this current release is a re-print edition published by Aperture in September of 2011. It is well to examine these startling images again - and this edition adds 25 images not previously published. The gritty, seamy images found in this collection allow us to examine from a safe distance the seamier side of the subway riders. This documentation of another time - with characters who were active in the culture of New York's underground - reminds us that times have not changed all that much: perhaps the costumes and paraphernalia have altered but the discontent of the faces has not.

There is an informative introduction to the times and the topic by Fred Braithwaite and the book ends with an Afterword by the now deceased famous art critic Henry Geldzahler. Best to buy this edition new before it too goes out of print. It is a keepsake and an art piece. Grady Harp, November 11