Elevated

New York City's elevated subway (the El) is redolent of the city's industrial past and the mundane present of mass transit, but it also offers the promise of a realm lifted above the errands of the streets. From the vantage point of a moving train or from the platform of a station, one may see an expanse of skyline and stretches of urban terrain. The upper sections of nearby buildings come into focus, as do structures on roofs like water towers, skylights, and bulkheads. In addition, the El interacts in fascinating ways with surrounding streets and architecture. I have been taking photographs from and around the El, expanding on the theme of "Elevated," I have also been photographing from the street looking upward at the roofs of buildings. Taking these pictures at twilight has been an important aspect of this project. During this transitional time, the change from daylight to moonlight and artificial light seems to awaken the city's own dreams, apart from the business and errands of its inhabitants. For me, these dreams are expressed in basic shapes and patterns, as if the infrastructure were communing with its own geometry while distracting details are hidden in shadow.