Wall Street "Abyss," New York 1936

Ilse Bing made this photograph of Wall Street in New York with a camera and photographic paper. The shades of gray, from almost black to light gray, compress the space, exaggerating its height and depth at the same time. It makes you feel as if you’re at the bottom of a very deep well. There’s a tactile quality to this photograph, despite the fact that it’s a photograph – the buildings are so imposing that they become almost sculptural. Look at the building on the right – the repeating pattern of windows fades as it rises. This sense of fading emphasizes the height of the building while also flattening its surface. Like a painting by Mondrian, this photograph makes the familiar strange. It could be a drawing or a painting just as easily as a photograph, and that ambiguity is where its strength lies.