Pace Press

Issue date: 2/16/05 Section: Features

Media Credit: Cat Kirifides Neelofer Qadir walks through the International Center of Photography viewing prints in the Ralph Eugene Meatyard exhibit

You've been rocking the poor college student's status for a while, and then your friends tell you they're coming to visit. "Great!" you think, "this is going to put the Big Hurt on my wallet." They're going to want to visit all of those great NYC landmarks that cost a pretty penny like the Grayline NY Sightseeing buses, The American Museum of Natural History, and ice skating at Rockefeller Center. If only you could show them the city that never sleeps without taking out another college loan. Conventional tourist spots can take a back seat to the interesting and somewhat lesser known ways to enjoy the city.

So they did it: your friends dragged you to Times Square. After spending as much time as you could stomach on the claustrophobic streets being bombarded by the glitzy glamour and spending a small fortune on McDonald's "Dollar Menu", you decide to break away from the insanity and walk a few blocks east to the International Center of Photography located on the corner of 43rd Street and the Avenue of the Americas. The ICP houses various exhibits while offering classes and workshops as well. Their website states that their mission is to, "present photography's vital and central place in contemporary culture, and to lead in interpretation of issues central to its development." We heartily agree. This cozy, two story building is currently showcasing four exhibits, all of which have a voice of social commentary and evoke strong reactions. The museum is currently featuring the works of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Bill Owens, Monsieur Bellocq, and a collaborative exhibit, White: Whiteness and Race in Contemporary Art.

Meatyard's photographs, the largest collection on display, are a thematic stroll through one photographer's journey from the natural world to inter-personal relationships between friends and family. Among the most notable are his photographs of children and in particular those that capture the doomed innocence of youth.

The Bill Owens exhibit, entitled "Leisure", explores the recreational activities suburbia indulged in between 1965-1980. From the alternative drug culture to the Stepford-esque summer barbeques, Owens presents a kaleidoscopic view of the counter-culture. Adding to his already captivating images, the witty captions give the collection an extra edge over the average pop-art exhibit.

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