Frank Rispoli creates a photo series detailing four decades spent chronicling the ever-changing face of New York City to ask, “what makes a memory?”. Is it when the late August sun illuminates a woman’s skin while complimenting the warm gold embellishments from her jewelry? Is it when the smoke rises from a barbecue grill and is recognized at the neighborhood picnic, or perhaps the bright reflective chrome on the backyard ice bucket while toasting family and friends with some bubbly? The compelling artists’ frisket images on a community storefront in the East Village that jogs your memory of a time when a neighborhood was trying to resist both crime and impending gentrification? Perhaps, it’s simply just the bright colors found in the urban landscape via a truck body or a building’s bright yellow panel? All of these elements merge together imperfectly to craft our comprehension of time in Frank’s unique multi-generational understanding of a city. The photographer’s eye is in the details, after all.
