Cultural diversity and nature informed this Brooklyn photo series by two longtime residents
Alex Webb, Park Slope, 2018. Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist
Photographer couple Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb have lived in Park Slope for some 20 years and for just as long, they’ve been documenting the borough they call home. In 2014, the duo embarked on a collaborative series of photographs that show typically unseen corners of Brooklyn and tell the layered stories of its multicultural neighborhoods. A collection of 30 images from that series will be on view at the Museum of the City of New York beginning on March 11 in an exhibition titled The City Within.
Alex Webb, Brownsville, Easter Sunday, 2016. Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist
Alex Webb, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, 2015. Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist
Though united by their background in street photography, you’ll easily be able to distinguish between Alex and Rebecca’s work. Alex’s colorful compositions are high-contrast and filled with a sense of movement while Rebecca’s eye is drawn to dreamlike moments and instances of nature in the city.
Rebecca Norris Webb, Winter Storm, Prospect Park, 2016.Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist
Rebecca Norris Webb, Night Before Aretha Died, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2017. Chromogenic development print. Courtesy of the artist.
Rebecca Norris Webb, Two Worlds, Prospect Park, 2013. Chromogenic development print.Courtesy of the artist
“In The City Within, they each create distinctive narratives, but expertly weave their viewpoints together into a harmonious ensemble,” Sean Corcoran, curator of prints and photographs at MCNY, explains.” And, like the borough itself, their view of Brooklyn is an exquisite union of visual and emotional complexity.”
Their project also has a personal meaning for the artists, who will be moving out of Brooklyn soon. “The vantage point of our leaving enabled us to see our home borough with fresh eyes. This allowed each of us to say farewell creatively in our own ways,” Alex noted.
The exhibit will be on view through September 20, 2020.
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All images courtesy of Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb
