EMILY ROZ
KEITH GAMACHEWISHING WELL
SARA RYCHTARIKQueens Plaza Photographs
Using high-speed film and a fast lens, Sara Rychtarik
captures the gritty exterior of Queens Plaza and the threatening
silence that emanates from its neglected buildings.
The large film grain that comprises her images,
in conjunction with Rychtarik's palette of muted hues,
mirrors the rough, cheerless surfaces and the dark,
impersonal atmosphere of the Plaza itself.
The rush of a subway above, a trail of green fluorescent
light along the tracks, the grimacing facade of the public garage,
and the corner fried chicken shop, steam oozing from behind its
windows,confront the viewers and remind them that this is an
unwelcoming, uncomfortable place.
These images of Queens Plaza are an exploration of a place of obvious significance that has been left to waste away;a place that is experienced but ignored; a place where transitions are made, but where end results never come to fruition.
Each image is a fragment of a larger tableau,because
the Plaza is generally experienced in averted glances,
by passing cars, on subway platforms while on the way to another place.
Born in Louisiana and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Sydney,
Australia, Sara Rychtarik received her degree from
Barnard College and studied at the International Center of Photography.
She has photographed for such publications as Details and
Black Book, and her work has been included in several group shows.
Sara Rychtarik was awarded a 2005 grant from Queens Council
on the Arts for this series of photographs.
KEITH GAMACHE
DAVID MELROSE
