I hadn’t begun riding the Staten Island Ferry regularly until mid-1998. And in the next several years, much would change for the one hundred year-old staple of municipal transportation. The lax atmosphere and cast of both official and unauthorized boat regulars were held to greater scrutiny after 9/11 and the crash of the Andrew Barberi Ferry in October 2003. The vendors and musicians largely disappeared, the shoe-shine guys finally packed it in. The preachers? Maybe they just gave up.
Each trip allows a venture into varying terrains during a 5.2 mile cruise across New York Harbor. The natural mix of sounds—conversations, vocal characteristics, boat movements—all punctuate a visual canvas which guides me into the mix of commuters, tourists, deckhands, and textural palettes. In one space, contrasting multi-cultural itineraries emerge aboard a vessel at sea which hosts nearly 65,000 guests each day. It is this complexity and oddity I attempt to dissect and preserve.
Each trip allows a venture into varying terrains during a 5.2 mile cruise across New York Harbor. The natural mix of sounds—conversations, vocal characteristics, boat movements—all punctuate a visual canvas which guides me into the mix of commuters, tourists, deckhands, and textural palettes. In one space, contrasting multi-cultural itineraries emerge aboard a vessel at sea which hosts nearly 65,000 guests each day. It is this complexity and oddity I attempt to dissect and preserve.
On a muggy August night, a man sitting alone begins to howl and shriek incessantly. He doesn’t leave his seat. He attracts the attention of passersby around him. People glance over, annoyed, and begin to move away. The police approach, calm the man down and threaten arrest. Repentant, the howling man gains composure and is left with a souvenir…a summons to appear in court. | Exhibited in the Human Condition show 2008.
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