exhibition | Amusing the Zillion

Posts Tagged ‘exhibition’

Lucille Fornasieri Gold’s Coney Island Photos from the 1970s

Posted in Photography, tagged 1970s, Chelsea Market, Coney Island, exhibition, Lucille Fornasieri-Gold on October 2, 2011| 3 Comments »

Shores of New York at Chelsea Market: Two Dog Taffy, Coney Island 1970s by Lucille Fornasieri-Gold. Installation photo by Amusing the Zillion

Passing through Chelsea Market last week, I happened to see the above photo of dogs napping in front of a Salt Water Taffy sign in 1970s Coney Island. Don’t know the dogs, but Philips Candy’s storefront is instantly recognizable and a delicious trip back in time for anyone who came and went to Coney via the old Stillwell Terminal. The image is part of “Shores of New York,” an exhibit of Lucille Fornasieri-Gold’s photographs of Coney Island, Brighton Beach, the Rockaways and other local seaside places in the 1970s and ’80s.

Shores of New York at Chelsea Market: Eating Under Handwriting, Coney Island 1970s by Lucille Fornasieri-Gold. Installation photo by Amusing the Zillion

Lucille Fornasieri-Gold’s Coney Island subjects include ticket sellers, musclemen, members of the Polar Bear Club and people hanging out in their favorite spot by the sea. The images also afford a glimpse of vanished attractions like the candy shop and a funhouse. “While I didn’t intend to document New York City, they allow us a comparison to today,” says the photographer, who is now 80.

Born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Fornasieri-Gold was first exposed to art through her father, a professor of architectural sculpture, according to her bio. “With the birth of her last child in 1969, she received her first camera and took pictures intensely for a ten-year period. In 2002 she retired to work only on her photography. She shoots frequently, and processes her negatives digitally.” Her photographs are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Public Library.

Shores of New York at Chelsea Market: Funhouse, Coney Island 1970s by Lucille Fornasieri-Gold. Installation photo by Amusing the Zillion

“Shores of New York,” Photographs by Lucille Foransieri-Gold, on view through ~~mid-October~~ October 6, 2011 at Chelsea Market, 75 Ninth Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets, New York, NY 10011. Doors to the market are open Mon-Sat from 7am to 10pm, and Sun from 10am-8pm.

Opens Jan 27: Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1898-1948

Posted in Photography, tagged Coney Island, E.E. Rutter, exhibition, Nickel Empire, Schroeder Romero & Shredder, vintage photograph on January 19, 2011| 2 Comments »

E.E. Rutter, "Untitled (Steeplechase Bicycle Ride)", c. 1925, Gelatin silver print, 7 3/8 x 9 1/8 inches. Courtesy Schroeder Romero & Shredder

Photographer E.E. Rutter’s glimpse of Steeplechase Park’s Bicycle Carousel watched over by George C. Tilyou’s waggish Funny Face is among the images on view in “Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1898-1948.” The exhibition of more than two dozen vintage photos along with a charred wooden horse from the Steeplechase ride that survived one of the park’s fires opens on January 27 at Schroeder Romero & Shredder. The Chelsea gallery, which opened in the fall, exhibits contemporary art in dialogue with historical works, gallerist Lisa Schroeder told ATZ. The Coney Island photographs and the horse are from the catalogue of Shredder, a collective formed by artists Brice Brown and Don Joint and named after their arts journal The Sienese Shredder.

Among the photographs in the exhibition are “scenes of scale models of rides, incandescent night views, people at play, and the great Bowery fire,” according to the press release. Though not in the exhibition, original plans for Steeplechase Park (1897-1964) and drawings of its rides will be available for private viewing, Schroeder said. The items are from the collection of historian and Brooklyn native Frederick Fried, who died in 1994. Fried’s pioneering works America’s Forgotten Folk Arts, Artists in Wood and The Pictorial History of the Carousel, which have long held a place on our bookshelf, brought folk art and amusement park art into the mainstream of collecting.

E.E. Rutter is less well known to us. But we learned quite a bit about him from Brooklynology, the Brooklyn Public Library’s wonderful blog. Photographs by Edgar E. Rutter (1883-1964), who advertised his studio as “E.E. Rutter,” are in the collections of the Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Borough Public Library and the Brooklyn Historical Society. “He had a photography studio at number 8, 4th Avenue (among other locations) and was the official photographer for the Borough of Brooklyn. The subjects covered in our collection include Bush Terminal, Coney Island (with many images of the boardwalk and some well-muscled lifeguards)…”

“Nickel Empire: Coney Island Photographs 1898-1948,” January 27-February 26, 2011. Schroeder Romero & Shredder, 531 W 26th St, New York, NY 10001, 212-630-0722. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 – 6; Saturday, 11 – 6. Opening Reception: Thursday, January 27, 6-8pm.

Related posts on ATZ...

October 26, 2010: Studio Visit: Richard Eagan of the Coney Island Hysterical Society

October 26, 2010: Studio Visit: Philomena Marano of the Coney Island Hysterical Society

February 25, 2010: Happy Belated Birthday to Coney Island’s William F Mangels

November 16, 2009: Rare & Vintage: Coney Island Sideshow Banner by Dan Casola

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Free Weekend Event: Coney Island Icons Exhibition at the Coney Island History Project

Posted in Events, history, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island History Project, exhibition, free, icon, landmark on July 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Visitors viewing "Coney Island Icons" at the History Project's exhibition center. Photo © Coney Island History Project via flickr

The History Project’s exhibition center under the Cyclone roller coaster is open on weekends from 1-6 p.m. and admission is free of charge!

The featured exhibition “Coney Island Icons” tells the story of Coney’s four city landmarks: the Cyclone, Wonder Wheel, Parachute Jump and Childs Building on the Boardwalk. Archival and contemporary photos, documents, anecdotes, interviews, souvenirs and artifacts, including a door from a Wonder Wheel car, are on display. The exhibition is curated by Charles Denson, CIHP Executive Director, noted historian and the author of the award-winning book Coney Island: Lost and Found.

The Coney History Project's exhibition center is on Surf Ave under the Cyclone Roller Coaster. Photo © Coney Island History Project via flickr

Coney Island History Project, located under the Cyclone Roller Coaster at 824 Surf Ave just east of W 10th Street, Saturday and Sunday, 1-6 pm, Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day