Michael Wolf's "Architecture of Density"
Tim pointed me to these amazing photos of high-rises in Hong Kong, by Michael Wolf. From the website:
ROBERT KOCH GALLERY is pleased to present Architecture of Density, an exhibition of large scale color photographs by Michael Wolf. Wolf has lived and worked in Hong Kong for ten years. Stimulated by the region's complex urban dynamics, he makes dizzying photographs of its architecture.One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer. The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks, finding a mesmerizing abstraction in the buildings' facades.
Some of the structures in the series are photographed without reference to the context of sky or ground, and many buildings are seen in a state of repair or construction: their walls covered with a grid of scaffolding or the soft colored curtains that protect the streets below from falling debris. From a distance, such elements become a part of the photograph's intricate design.
Check out the rest of them: Michael Wolf's Architecture of Density.
Savannah, on Monday, January 24, 2005 at 7:45 AM:
Wow. Besides the important artistic element of deliberate estrangement of the quotidian from our ordinary perceptions n' all that, there's the time factor! For the people who live on the upper floors, riding the elevator must be a whole other commute! When they get to their building, they're only halfway home!
Andrew Sundstrom, on Monday, January 24, 2005 at 3:58 PM:
Think the cops have to filter peeping-Tom calls?
Jim Casper, on Saturday, February 19, 2005 at 6:02 PM:
Michael Wolf spoke with me earlier this week about this work of his, and an edited audio recording of our conversation can be heard at http://www.lensculture.com/wolf.html
He's as articulate and thoughtful in words as he is through his photography.