While on a recent trip to New York City I paid a visit to Fotografiska, a new "museum" devoted to photography. I had no idea what to expect but I thought it might be something different, and it was. Billed as "A museum experience for the modern world," there is no permanent collection but several temporary shows. "Have fun. Stay late. Spill your drink," they add. At the moment they are showing Andy Warhol's Polaroid portraits, an elaborate series of Sara Moon's beautiful pictorialism, a series with video about Ruth Orkin, and a major installation of enlarged proof sheets and pictures from Anders Petersen's "Cafe Lehmitz" which happens to be one of my favorite photography books of all time. It also includes two videos of Petersen talking about his working methods and the people in the Lehmitz book, which was his first project.
The museum is housed in an impressive six-story building and includes a cafe and shop downstairs, where you can even buy a Leica. The museum also hosts special events which sound interesting. All in all it's a satisfying experience. My only complaint is that the galleries themselves are dimly lit and it's very difficult to read the captions, which are also awkwardly placed. I can definitely recommend a visit if you're in town.
The museum is housed in an impressive six-story building and includes a cafe and shop downstairs, where you can even buy a Leica. The museum also hosts special events which sound interesting. All in all it's a satisfying experience. My only complaint is that the galleries themselves are dimly lit and it's very difficult to read the captions, which are also awkwardly placed. I can definitely recommend a visit if you're in town.
