Central Park Plaza: Hotel Sherry Netherland (Center), Hotel Savoy Plaza (Right), Manhattan, Angle: From 58th Street and Fifth Avenue, Manhattan 1937

Berenice Abbott made this gelatin silver print of Central Park Plaza, hotels Sherry Netherland and Savoy Plaza somewhere around the middle of the 20th century. The crispness, the way it’s all held in check like a well-built machine. That’s how I think of silver gelatin. The eye leaps between the stark tree in the foreground and the gothic architecture in the distance. See how the branches reach upwards towards the sky, mirroring the architectural forms? The textures are palpable, from the rough bark of the tree to the smooth stone of the buildings. What is in focus and what isn’t? What is hidden and what is exposed? It’s almost as if Abbott is inviting us to consider the city not as a fixed entity, but as a collection of fleeting moments and perspectives. I’m reminded of the photographs of Eugène Atget, who documented the changing face of Paris with a similar sense of curiosity and detachment. Both artists share a fascination with the urban landscape and its capacity to evoke a sense of both wonder and alienation.