Arts for Transit and Urban Design

Atlantic Avenue-Barclays

Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao

Greetings from Coney Island

Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao created a series of panoramic time-lapse views of the famed seaside amusement park, using a tri-pod for long exposures that capture and compress time within each panoramic frame. As dusk turns to evening, and neon takes center stage, Liao brings the viewer into the picture though his technique of wide angle and expansive viewpoint. He brings us into the crowd, on the boardwalk, in front of the rides, the subway station and Nathan’s – all one would want from an evening in Coney Island.

After the damaging super storm of 2012, the images serve as a welcome reminder to commuters about how wonderful Coney Island is, which these photographs capture beautifully.

The motion and garish lights of the amusements were designed to attract attention, yet Liao’s photographs are carefully crafted to speak with a quieter voice. Most of the images were taken after dusk and with the use of time exposures, enabling Liao to craft a soft and expressive color palette that creates an atmosphere both moody and mysterious.

Liao, Taiwainese-born and a NYC resident fascinated with the diversity and vistas found in each of the City’s boroughs, recently published a book containing his Coney Island photographs, “Coney Island” Nazraeli Press. In the introduction, Museum of the City of New York Curator of Prints and Photographs curator Sean Corcoran says, “ The…large-scale prints have a visual sweep often associated with cinema, encompassing the viewer and providing a strong sense of place.” It is the place which comes through in these extraordinary photographs, a place that has had a difficult year, but is still a destination for fun, where the City meets the shore. In this exhibit, Liao takes you there, and so can the subway.

The exhibit is on view through 2013 and is generously sponsored by Digital Plus.