HP has announced that it will sponsor renowned professional photographer
Joel Meyerowitz in a project to document New York City parks in pictures.
The archival project will span a year in the life of more than 50 parks
throughout New York City and surrounding communities, beginning in January
2006. It is the first long term visual documentation of NYC parks since
1930s when they were photographed as part of Franklin Roosevelt's WPA
program.
The Park photographs will be featured in a traveling exhibition and in a
book to be called "A Year in New York's Parks". The exhibition and the book
will constitute a visual essay on the inter-relationship of New York's
natural areas with the extreme urban environment of New York City.
The New York City park system covers nearly 29,000 acres of green space,
approximately 14% of the New York's total land area. Of that total over
11,000 acres are natural areas including salt marshes, wetlands, forests,
lakes, rock outcrop, meadows, grassland and over 14 miles of beaches. The
NYC Park System also includes four major stadiums and over 4000 individual
properties including 800 athletic fields, nearly 100 playgrounds, 550 tennis
courts and 63 swimming pools.
"The timing of this project is particularly opportune. We are at a juncture in New York's history where a popular interest in the importance of green spaces coexists with a Mayor and a Commissioner who support a vigorous expansion of public access to New York's parkland," said Betsy Smith, NYC Parks Development Director. "In fact, more than half a billion dollars are being spent this year alone to build and rebuild New York's parks, greenways and waterfront areas. This convergence of civic pride with governmental support will be codified in a collection of photographs that will be renowned for both their beauty and their utility."
Joel Meyerowitz has participated in other historic archival projects
including Ground Zero immediately following the World Trade Center attacks,
Tuscany, the Empire State Building, and downtown Atlanta.
