The Faces of New York

Pencil & Conte on bristol :: 18 x 24" :: 2004

Upon first arriving in New York, any non-native, is immediately impressed by the melange of faces from across the globe scurrying hastily between the megaliths of concrete and glass which erupt skyward from the bedrock. The canvas is divided in two by a serpentine track that weaves obliquely across the canvas producing separate cityscapes above and below.

The skyline of both cityscapes is composed of an array of faces. Midway through the first scene, the pale buildings stand completely transfixed resting above the water underscored by a perfectly straight line . However, wherever the skyline contacts the serpentine track, the buildings are injected with a restrained brown, red and touches of pink acquiring a vitality of their own as they as they undulate across the canvas forming waves.

Above, a mosaic of faces coalesce above the skyline, in a random array, the profile of one materializing into the contour of another, representing the city's diverse intermingling of faces. Just below the serpentine track rides a procession of faces. These are the faces of a lone individual separated not by space, but time. Beginning at the far right, is the profile of a fetus. As it rides along the track, it progresses through all of the stages that both bless and curse the human condition, until finally, as it reaches the edge of the canvas, it cries out in exasperation, only to be drowned out by the pall of faces sprawled across the city.