From Publishers Weekly
Using discarded scraps of wood, metal, plastic and any other available materials, formerly homeless New York men and women built improvised housing in the early '90s with care and a need for order, privacy and community. Morton (The Tunnel), a professor of art at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, befriended some of them and documented their structures. The result is this haunting collection of 90 stark, sharply reproduced b&w photos, with captions by Morton, an introduction by housing critic and scholar Alan Trachtenberg, and commentary from the builders themselves. "If I don't do something here, my mind will die," says Hector A. of his Bushville cabin in the East Village. The homes at Bushville, "The Hill" and other areas, often under bridges or on abandoned piers, are shown with the wreaths and religious icons that often mark their entryways, and the pots, cookstoves, couches, beds and furniture drawn from a city full of discards. Since New York systematically bulldozed all of the camps shown (the last was demolished in 1996), Morton's book is an important testament to the will and ingenuity of their inhabitants. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
Morton, a photographer published in many prominent magazines and newspapers, brought more than a camera and an artist's eye with her when she started visiting the shantytowns of New York City in 1989; she brought respect, compassion, and a sense of wonder. She also used a tape recorder to preserve the stories of the people she visited, straightforward tales of homelessness that remind readers of how precarious existence is for everyone. The men also talk about how they built their small, often ingenious, and always precious homes, "fragile dwellings" that speak of so much more than basic survival. Morton's strongly composed and regal black-and-white photographs of improvised huts, tents, and gardens created in empty lots and beneath highway ramps and bridges focus on the personal touch--signs, decorations, and souvenirs of cultural ties to other lands and other times. Her striking portraits of the steadfast, independent, and resourceful residents of these endangered communities (all were bulldozed) capture their love for each other, their pets, and a bit of earth, however tenuous their connection to it. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
