Lower Manhattan & the Staten Island Ferry Ride
I find myself surrounded by friends, people constantly in this city. Yet somehow, it still just isn’t home. I totally understand what a friend of mine said by New York being a tiring, lonely city. Maybe I’m just not a native. Maybe I just haven’t quite settled in yet. But despite being in a crowd, at dinner with a group of friends, laughing frantically with my roommates, I still miss home. Somehow, it just isn’t the same. I am in love but not in love with New York. I looked at these pictures, and although they’re really not much about anything, they felt a little lonely to me.
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Beautiful. Great photos and stories. I love your blog.
Congratulations.
Elisa
Elisa
June 10, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I know what you are talking about. Probably every international student goes through this and believe me home can never be replaced neither can family, or old friends. It is not even a cultural shock for us, since we speak the same language and wear similar clothes. I don’t think we must have come across any major hurdle like communication problems, etc but like people say, “humour is internal and tragedy is universal” (I think that’s what it is, but you get the idea, right? haha.) There are certain things which only we can relate to and once we find that gap, we feel lonely.
I see that in your first picture but the second one seems to be having hope even though there is a big skull (i think) drawing the foreground, to me that seems like past and the silhouette of the two people going towards a brighter lit area seems like hope (the future) however, good job and well said. That should be your artist statement and since you are so amazing with portraits you can play with people’s expressions to convey this message of yours. Make this your final project.
Argh! I wish I had thought of this before!
Mihir Desai
June 11, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I completely agree that New York is lonely. I wrote this about a week ago as a comment to Jae Won, but it also seems to fit with that you’re saying and would like to share it with you!
“Last night I was thinking about how I consider New York City to be one of the loneliest places in the world. So many people surround me when I’m here, but I feel more alone at times than I ever have. None of these people knows me, thinks about me, cares about me, etc. New Yorkers have to desperately try to stand out, be an individual, and not get lost in the crowd as I sometimes feel I do when I’m in New York. But your photos don’t let them do that. In the darkness, everything and everyone blends together and some of the individuality that the subjects of your pictures and even of New York City itself strive for is lost. I love these pictures because they tell the truth, but I hate these pictures because they tell the truth. To be clear, I don’t actually hate these pictures at all, I think they’re lovely, I just hate they way they make me feel. Regardless of any of your personal intentions behind these photos, for me, when I look at them I am forced to see New York in the way I hate to: huge, empty, and a little bit lonely.”
sophievalentine
June 11, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Can’t agree more with all of you guys, and yes, I loved reading your comment Sophie. Maybe it is almost natural for us to feel lonely here, because we don’t even live here, but I think NYC itself is a pretty lonely city. dazzling, but lonely, probably like every other city. Cuz I sometimes am lonely even when I am with my friends or my family. Solitude may exist, from time to time, everywhere people live.
oscar
June 13, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Great pictures…. I lite these picture…
Thankyou Very Much
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statensisland
July 3, 2008 at 1:22 pm