By Paul Goldfinger, photography editor @Blogfinger
Walker Evans (1903-1975) was one of America’s finest photographers. He usually worked with a large view camera (the kind that stood on a tripod while the photographer put his head under a black cloth.) He is best known for his work during the Great Depression when he was part of a famous team from the FSA—Farm Security Administration, that documented the harsh conditions in the “dust bowl” in hard-hit states like Oklahoma.
But he also accumulated a large body of work in New York City. This photo is from 1928 at Coney Island.
It is from a book called New York, New York—The City in Art and Literature, published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2000. In this instance the literature was that of lyrics to a song by the great Lorenz Hart. But at Blogfinger, we add another dimension—the actual song–“Manhattan” by Rodgers and Hart:
“We’ll go to Coney and eat baloney on a roll,
In Central Park we’ll stroll, where our first kiss we stole,
Soul to soul.” (Lorenz Hart)
BOBBY SHORT–a consummate New Yorker.
Coney Island was & still is such a magical place. Nathans hot dogs. The iconic Cyclone wooden roller coaster. The aquarium. The minor league baseball team (the Cyclones). The freak museum. Mermaid parade. Etc. Etc. Asbury Parks Tillie came from Coney Island. George Tillyou.