Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs

Here is New York

A Democracy of Photographs

Here is New York was founded in response to the events of September 11, and to the flood of images that resulted from it. The idea was simple: to present images of the event by as many different people and from as many different perspectives as possible. In the days following September 11, the organisers asked for pictures and were inundated with slides, negatives, prints, and digital files from photographers of every description, not only top photojournalists and other professionals, but rescue workers, firemen, cops, school children, and amateurs of every kind.

In order to underline that it was the images themselves that mattered, rather than their makers, the photographs were all digitally scanned, printed out in exactly the same format, and hung from wires without attribution nor frames in a Prince St store front. The book Here is New York is the most comprehensive and authentic document of what occurred. It bears witness to what seemed unimaginable, and it memorialises the people who perished and the rescue workers who served so courageously.

Most of all, the book is a testimony of people speaking directly to each other about their fears, their emotions, and their desire for community. This desire is one of the strongest by-products of the horrible events of September 11th. It is also what distinguishes Here is New York from any and all other books about the event.

“When my niece sent me this book, I finally comprehended what she, and everyone else in New York City, went through around 9/11. It was the greatest gift she could have given me. Much more than anything on television or in the newspapers, it helped me understand.” -Sean Elwood, Los Angeles, CA

“The dreadful attacks were recorded in the most democratic of ways – by thousands of photographers, amateur and professional, whose work has been gathered in this extraordinary new book.” -The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, London

Condition: Very Good