17 March – 20 May 2012
C/O Berlin
“The people in the subway, their flesh juxtaposed against the graffiti, the penetrating effect of the strobe light itself, and even the hollow darkness of the tunnels, inspired an aesthetic that goes unnoticed by passengers who are trapped underground, hiding behind masks, and closed off from each other.” – Bruce Davidson
Press release from C/O Berlin:
„New York, at the beginning of the 1980s. A gloomy urban sprawl between hedonism and abyss. The subway, in its dilapidated state, is a hazardous place. Fires in tunnels, muggings, murder and drug trafficking are the order of the day; overcrowded wagons, frequent delays, graffiti and dirt everywhere. The journey with public transport is a nightmare. The photographer Bruce Davidson boards the train, immerses himself in the raging, rattling hustle and bustle of the city and portraits the passengers between uniformity and diversity, anonymity and intimacy, depression and inspiration. Whether lovers, musicians, homeless people, tourists or business people – in the subway and its passengers he finds the perfect metaphor for life in the metropolis with its aggression and ugliness, its hope and humanity.
C/O Berlin will present a selection of the subway series by Bruce Davidson including the 47 dye transfer prints for the first time in Berlin. 25 years after the first publication, the catalogue was re-issued by the Steidl Verlag Jahre and Aperture on the occasion of the exhibition in 2011.“
More info about the exhibition
☞ C/O Berlin
More images from the series Subway
☞ Magnum Photos | Bruce Davidson | Subway
Image:
© Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos
Bruce Davidson. USA. New York City. 1980. Subway.
