Artist Statement - About Jeff's Work

CITY LIGHTS, CITY DREAMS

 Photographs by Jeff Spielman

I'm a native New Yorker – a proud resident of this great city.  I was born in Brooklyn, as were my parents, and two of my four grandparents.  Descended from Eastern European Jews who emigrated here seeking a better life for themselves and their children, I feel a deep connection to my city – to its history, its immigrant past and its continuing evolution in the present time.  I consider myself fortunate to now live in Lower Manhattan’s Chinatown - a neighborhood where the ongoing cycle of immigration that enriches New York’s soul continues today just as it did 100 years ago when some of my ancestors (including my great-great-grandfather’s family) first settled on the very same street where I now live.

 My mission as a photographer is to record the soul and spirit of New York City as I experience it.  I strive to create photographs that reflect both the city’s past and present…and that draw the viewer into the scene as I share what I see with you.  I find beauty and poetry in the streets and sidewalks, the building and bridges, the trees and landscapes of this ever-evolving metropolis. 

My photographic hero is the French master, Eugene Atget, who created a highly personal photographic portrait of his beloved city of Paris in the first decades of the 20^th Century.   Just as he did with Paris in his time, I hope that my exploration of my own city will continue to evolve and grow for many years to come.  I hope that my work allows me to share with you, the viewer, some of the aching and haunting beauty I see all around me in the city which I am privileged to call my home.