An exhibition of 15 color photographs, entitled Down These Mean Streets, by Will Steacy, the 2008 Tierney Fellowship award recipient from the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University, will go on view June 4 at the Tisch School of the Arts. Steacy s photographs, taken at night with a large format camera, examine fear and abandonment in America s inner cities.
Media are invited to attend an opening reception, Thursday, June 4, 2009, from 6 - 8 p.m.
Artist is the Winner of 2008 Tierney Fellowship in the Department of Photography & Imaging
An exhibition of 15 color photographs, entitled Down These Mean Streets, by Will Steacy, the 2008 Tierney Fellowship award recipient from the Department of Photography & Imaging at New York University, will go on view June 4 at the Tisch School of the Arts. Steacys photographs, taken at night with a large format camera, examine fear and abandonment in Americas inner cities.
Steacy routinely walks between the airport and central business districts of each photographed city, focusing on the part of town one might drive through but not to. The artist believes that America has turned its back on cities, as years of neglect have left crumbling neighborhoods with no local economy, a public education system that barely meets requirements, a low income housing nightmare, and few options for proper nutrition and health care as violence and drugs reign making survival a number one priority. By addressing the loss and despair that prevail in our urban communities, I want to reveal a modern day portrait of the American inner city, as problems and issues cannot be solved if they are not first identified, he said.
The exhibition opens June 4 and will remain on view through August 8, 2009 in the Gulf+Western Gallery at 721 Broadway (at Waverly Place). Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. It is open to the public, and admission is free. A photo I.D. is required when entering the building. For further information, call 212.998.1930, or visit www.photo.tisch.nyu.edu.
The annual Tierney Fellowship grant was established by the Tierney Family Foundation in 2005. It is awarded to a Photography & Imaging alumnus who has shown excellence in the field of photography and has graduated within the past seven years. The primary goal of the Fellowship is to find aspiring artists who will be tomorrows leaders and to assist them in overcoming challenges that photographers face at the start of their careers.
Photographs by Will Steacy Go on View at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts / page 2
Steacy is an American photographer and writer. He worked as a union laborer before becoming a photographer. His photographs have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the country and are included in many private and public collections. Steacy was named in the 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers by powerHouse Books and The Center for Documentary Studies. His work has been featured on CNN, in Harpers, Newsweek, New York Magazine, Russian Esquire, The Paris Review, among others, and published in various books. Steacy lives and works in New York and is represented by Michael Mazzeo Gallery.
The Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts is a four-year B.F.A. program centered on the making and understanding of images. Students explore photo-based imagery as personal and cultural expression. Situated within a university, the program offers students both the intensive focus of an arts curriculum and a serious and broad grounding in the liberal arts.