Brian Finke turns his attention to New York City building sites for his third monograph, Construction. As with his previous series (which focused upon such subjects as flight attendants and high school cheerleaders and football players), the new work examines a group of people- this time construction workers- who are often represented in broad and stereotypical terms. Consistent with earlier projects, Finke zeroes in upon postures, expressions, and gestures, representing the individuals who comprise the group.
While revealing diversity in uniformity, Finke also details the establishment of individual identities in the image of the larger group or industry. As Whitney Johnson comments: “In the documentary tradition, Finke’s observations of this subset of society reveal something about our time.” She continues: “These pictures are not about drama or awe, nor are they about architectural feat… Instead Finke takes an honest look at what it means to be- at the daily task of being- a construction worker.”
Finke began “Construction” at the height of the building boom in Manhattan in early 2008. As skyscrapers were going up at frenzied pace, the artist hoped to capitalize upon all of the energy. However, the real estate market soon collapsed, and what Finke found instead were often empty sites with very little going on. Finke writes: “It would feel like being out in the desert or in the middle of nowhere. A lot of the time it was just staring at a ladder on the roof of a building, all by itself.”
Brian Finke (b. 1976) graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1998 with a BFA in photography. Since that time, he has had incredible success as an artist, with work placed in nine museum collections here and abroad. His first monograph was named one of the best photography books of 2004 by American Photo magazine. Also in 2004, Finke was one of twelve artists nominated for the International Center for Photography’s annual Infinity Award, and he won a prestigious New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.
Book
Construction – Brian Finke
Published by Decode Books
80 pages, 10 x 10 inches, 59 photos
ISBN 978-0-9833942-1-1
$55 USD
Exhibition
Construction – Brian Finke
From September 6th to October 13, 2012
ClampArt
521-531 West 25th Street,
Ground Floor
New York City 10001 – USA
[email protected]
+1 646.230.0020
