Heads

These photographs were taken in Times Square in New York City between 2009 and 2013.  They are a subset of a larger series of photographs I am making titled The Light Fantastic in which I photograph down on the streets of New York City from what I call perches.  With Heads I am directly above and very close to my subjects as they wait on line to buy theatre tickets.

I want these images to lift out of their particular place and time to speak about something shared by humankind.  What I try for in making these photographs is a degree of formality that is unlikely in such a dynamic and fluid situation. There is also abstraction here that comes from the severe angle of view from above and the extremely shallow focus that leaves most of the image defused and gauzy.  And color is important.  I want the color to sing and to evoke strong emotion.

(Images from this series are digital photographs printed as archival ink jet prints.  Size varies.)   

Gregory Spaid

September 2013

Link to Heads Gallery