THE GRAND GOWANUS
The Grand Gowanus, no. 1, no. 2, no, 3, no. 4,
2008, Giclée prints, 4-1/8 x 11 inches, Edition of 10,
Sets of all 4 prints presented in custom paper portfolio.
I have photographed the Gowanus Canal of Brooklyn New York and the Grand Canal of Venice Italy and paired them together here so they show a very similar vantage point, forcing them to almost be viewed as one. The Gowanus has been compared to Venice time and again, yet this comparison seems little more than commercially driven optimism. The photographs, made as stereo prints present the images side-by-side are intended to allow a third image to appear in 3-dimension in the mind’s eye of the viewer.
In 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site, a designation reserved for the most chemically contaminated places in the country. Coaltar, sewage and industrial waste made the Gowanus the most contaminated waterway of its size in the country. Ironies abound when it comes to Gowanus: it is a toxic site in one of the richest cities of the world.
