Monday, March 22, 2010

The Silent Aftermath of Space


Caleb Cain Marcus is a young man Alberto and I met years ago when we were living in California teaching and dancing Argentine tango. He was a fledgling tango dancer.

He and his partner Ting Chin are now accomplished dancers and teachers, and their home base is New York City, where Caleb has pursued a successful career as a photographer.

When he told me the book was a collection of photographs he took over three years of walking the streets of New York deep into the night, I was intrigued.

Over a year ago he sent me an advance copy of this fabulous book of photographs, and I have been wanting to share it with you all this time, but had to wait for it to be available.



In the words of Robert Frank, who wrote the eloquent forward, Caleb captures “the light of night”.



The photographs explore the haunting silence of being alone on the streets of New York City. They are the discovery of solitude found within the confines of urban life. The photographs reflect the beauty in open space that was once filled with chaos and at night has only darkness and silence.

The work urges us to slow down, to look, experience and breathe. Each photograph marks the passing of another night. The collection, like the sea, creates a subtle but constant resonance that deepens from the first image to the last. The images are grainy, dark and mysterious. Exposed from direct light sources they become jewels of the night.



Add this book to your art library. You can get it HERE

If you would like to see more of Caleb's work, his web site is HERE

The black-and-white photographs collected in The Silent Aftermath of Space explore the silent and haunting experience of walking alone after dark on the streets of New York City.

Caleb Cain Marcus savors the strange solitude that follows the familiar crowded confinement of the city's daylight life; amid vacated construction sites, empty pews in churches, parking lots and subway tunnels, an eerily placid beauty resounds, consuming spaces that were once filled with bustle and chaos.



As each shot marks the passing of another night, the collection accumulates a quiet, consistent resonance. Cain Marcus' work urges the viewer to look at and breathe in the mute magic of night-time New York.

I'm hoping his next book will be a collection of photographs of his other nocturnal pleasure, the tango of the night!

Caleb and Ting dancing tango


The Silent Aftermath of Space is presented in spectacular large format, allowing viewers to submerge themselves in its mood. Exposed from direct light sources, these images are grainy and enigmatic nocturnal gems.


14 comments:

Kwana said...

These are so wonderful. He really captures the silence that you can find in NY when you least expect it.

ashlina {the decorista} said...

wow. his website is pretty cool thanks for the heads up. i love that time of morning when literally it feels like the whole world is asleep.

:)

Pretty Zesty said...

wow, so inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Creative types and the empty night, we love it. Where does that come from? Beautiful.

AppleTree said...

You know all the coolest people...

pve design said...

New York nights can be so eerily calm. Wonderful
images and yes, you share with us such incredible people that have been part of your life.
pve

Anonymous said...

Dingy and uninspiring.

Marnie said...

i haven't seen the tango performed very often and thoroughly enjoyed watching a little bit of tango dancing in the movie coco chanel

Acanthus and Acorn said...

Beautiful work. A talented photographer and a tango dancer, that is some sexy combination!!!

Gwen Driscoll said...

These are just beautiful. I'm constantly amazed at the art of photography. People who do it well really do have a gift. Amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Lila said...

I love that your photos have history to them. It's so refreshing to see someone remembering the past!
Lila Ferraro
Queen Bedroom Sets

Karena said...

Fine art photographers are very talented and truly have a great eye for detail! I will be profiling one from Kansas City soon!

Karena
Art by Karena

Unknown said...

Those are incredible!

La Petite Gallery said...

This is so mysterious looking. Haunting,and foreboding. the Train station and the subway are beautiful shots. Now the Dancers are Fabulous. The church photo makes me feel humble, with
spritual reverence, in Awe.
His next book should be Tango, so sexy...Great post..

yvonne