Synopses & Reviews
North Philadelphia is a photographic portrait of a neighborhood in crisis. It consists of images of street corners, house facades, churches, vacant lots, and portraits of the residents. Emblematic of many such regions throughout the United States, the series looks at a corner of Philadelphia that hovers between decay and possibility.
Daniel Traub is a Brooklyn-based photographer and filmmaker. His photographs have been exhibited internationally. His work has also appeared in publications including the New York Times Magazine, Telegraph Magazine, Time, and Newsweek.
Synopsis
A striking photographic portrait of the cityscape and the people of North Philadelphia
Synopsis
North Philadelphia is a photographic portrait of a neighborhood in prolonged crisis. The book presents a compelling glimpse into an urban area that hovers between decay and possibility, and is emblematic of many such regions across the United States. Growing up in Philadelphia, photographer Daniel Traub came to know this section of the city as a youth while working on an urban renewal art project. Many years later, after spending a decade in China photographing communities at the margins of Chinese society, he returned to North Philadelphia to explore the economic and racial divide in his own country. Made between 2008-2013, North Philadelphia combines images of dilapidated homes, vacant lots, and street corners with portraits of the residents. While it is an unvarnished view of a neglected corner of America, it is also a book imbued with beauty and moments of revelation.
About the Author
Daniel Traub is a Brooklyn based photographer and filmmaker. His photographs have been exhibited internationally, including solo exhibitions at the Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago and the Print Center in Philadelphia and are in collections including the Martin Z. Margulies Collection and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. His work has also appeared in publications including The New York Times Magazine, Telegraph Magazine, Time and Newsweek.
Kalia Brooks is a New York based curator and writer. She is the Exhibitions Director at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, New York, and an Adjunct Professor in the Photography and Imagining Department in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU). She is also a PhD Candidate in Aesthetics and Art Theory with the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts (idsva). Brooks received her M.A. in Curatorial Practice from the California College of the Arts (CCA) in 2006. She served as Public Programs Coordinator at The Studio Museum in Harlem and was a Helena Rubinstein Fellow in Critical Studies at the Whitney Independent Study Program 2007/2008.