Photographing and exhibiting - New York City's Art Deco skyscrapers
The Poster Show, New York City - Art Deco USA
The first time I travelled outside of my own country, I was kind of shocked to see that the place I had arrived at was real. It was like the books, the movies, the pictures I had seen but so much larger - and it had its own smell and temperature. That first city I visited was Moscow in 1994. Much later, in 2017 I visited New York City for the first time. On my first full day there, I wanted to indulge an obsession with the game of chess before other commitments took over. I made a trip to Fred Wilson's Chess shop on East 11th street, to purchase a souvenir of New York. A vintage American made set of chess pieces - 20th century of course - and a book Fisher Vs the Russians. Back in Australia I discovered that the same building had been home to artist Marcel Duchamp's studio, 2 floors up. The artist who famously gave up making art to play chess...
My experience of the skyscrapers of New York was a lot like that first trip, my first foreign city. Familiar, no longer abstract, real, and oh so much larger. From where we were staying on Madison Avenue, the Empire State Building kept popping out at you, here, there, everywhere. I wasn't expecting that. But it was the Flatiron building that was perhaps, the most intimidating building. A huge favourite, and so famous, photographed by Edward Steichen in 1904, his platinum-gum exhibition prints, and the image - in it's many iterations - are a part of the pantheon of art and photography. How could I photograph this building which had suddenly appeared on my way to buy a chess set?!
The Chrysler was another matter. Though it too blew my mind when it first appeared in full view. It's not over-rated, just, stunning and a real joy to see. I simply photographed it right away. It is beautiful, and along with the Empire State Building, star and the backbone of my latest exhibition.
Venkman: I guess they just don't make them like they used to, huh?
Stantz: No! Nobody ever made them like this!
That's a line from the 1980s hit film Ghostbusters where the uniqueness of one of the city's Art Deco – Gothic trim skyscrapers is central to the plot. And yet for a while, for a few decades, they did make them like that! Iron beams with skein of brick reaching ever upward. Podium's with setbacks to allow the light to flow into the streets and then, the massive tall towers topped out with, whatever took your fancy. A pyramid, a Greek temple, St Mark's Campanile* (no that was in the last show) gargoyles column and frieze or maybe, something more in tune with the jazz age? An embossed skin of shining stainless steel, receding arches and triangles, a needle pointing up, up into the sky. If the cathedrals of old seemed to defy gravity, then what new wonder was this? The Empire State Building was built in just one year and 45 days, the Chrysler, 20 months. Some European cathedrals took hundreds of years to complete.
The photographs in this show focus on the booming 1920s. The Art Deco Age, the French Building, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 70 Pine Street, RCA Victor Building (in this show, the General Electric Building - though in my first work-up it was RCA), Irving Trust Company Building, 1 Wall Street,  120 Wall Street, The Chanin, The Chrysler and Empire State Buildings.
It had been a desire of mine to see these classics of 20th century architecture since my days as an art student. At last, in 2017 I had my chance. I was in New York for just over two weeks, but I was not there to photograph architecture. This was a fashion parades, frocks and hotel interiors trip for the blog White Caviar Life. Architecture, if any, would be catch it if you can.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had good weather, a bit of spare time, and a terrific, light zoom lens for my Fujifilm digital camera. When the fantasy of photographing these iconic skyscrapers first awakened in me back in the 1980s, my thinking was crowded with film formats, tripods and impossibly expensive cameras and lenses that I simply did not have – well, I never made it to NYC back then anyway...
I saw and photographed many more buildings than I have made posters of. Some of them appear on the mural of small prints, pictures of being in New York, that accompanies the posters. The skyscraper shots were made while out walking looking for locations, shooting on location, The Chrysler & Socony–Mobil shot was made while making a laundry run. The pictures were made made when opportunity presented itself, and for the most part I was ready. The mural of small prints also includes shots from the fashion shows we attended, trips to art galleries and some street fashion.
There are some A3 prints too, book-ending the two poster walls. Shots from a fashion shoot for the label Mario and Lee, the stylish brainchild of young designer Lionel Nichols. This happened because after one of the shows we had attended; I asked if I could do a shot of the fantastic outfit he, Lionel was wearing, and it turned out he had made it himself. Well of course, It's fashion week! So we shot Lionel's capsule range with Lionel modelling the tops and jacket, resplendent with Art Deco chevron patterns. We started out on our hotel rooms terrace with the Empire State in the background. A little too close really. Then on the streets at night under the Empire State Building herself. The 'red' pictures are outside a shopfront restaurant at its base.
The idea for a poster show grew out of the posters I had designed for the Redleaf and Venice shows and a project I'm working on about Sydney. I married the exhibition poster to notions of vintage travel posters, together with the desire to make the pictures more affordable. Meaning, not an edition, which is what an 'open edition' is. I love seeing those gallery posters and old lovely, nostalgic travel posters. So why not make some colourful posters of my own. I did the design work myself, the colours and the typeface. All designed and finished at A0 size (1.2 meters on the long side). So they look as good, print quality wise, as large posters as they do as postcards.
The Poster Show
An exhibition of Art Deco NYC Skyscrapers photographs by Kent Johnson.
Coral Coffee (Fable Cafe), 128 Darlinghurst Road Darlinghurst From the 16th of April until the 28th of May 2025
1 Empire State Building, Sunset Glow
2 Trinity Churchyard, Nathan's Hot Dogs
3 Chrysler Building 42nd St Grand Central
4 Empire State Building & The Langham
6 General Electric Building Art Deco USA
7 The Chrysler, Stars & Stripes
8 Atlas Sculpture, Rockefeller Center
9 On Broadway, Neon Show Signs
10 Stars & Stripes, Empire State
11 The Chrysler & Socony–Mobil
12 Seagram Building. Mies van der Rohe
13 The Poster Show (poster) NYC
Open edition available at various sizes – archival pigment ink Giclée prints on 160GSM 'Poster' paper – unframed.
Thanks to Nancy at Coral Coffee for the exhibition space & Vivienne She for her support.
Posters are available for purchase from my Etsy shop – Kent's Travel Posters.
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/KentsTravelPosters
One last building - The Seagram Building by Mies van der Rohe. The International Style building that I had to show. Too… Very intimidating. What was I going to say about that one? Equally one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century, the one that started the whole modern era of high-rise. It was just around the corner from where we were staying in our third hotel. Speaking with some people at the show a few days ago I recalled that the first time I went up to have a look at it. I forgot to take my camera. Seriously, I never forget my gear! I forgot my camera but I took a look. Maybe that was for the best. When I went back a day or two later I saw that the best shot for me was from almost under the awning - or whatever it’s called, looking straight up. The Seagram is still perfect, still looks great, it is beautiful, too. In it’s own modernist way - but to pull it off, you need to be the best with a budget to go with the design. At its completion, the most expensive skyscraper ever made - straight and tall and truly stylish - don’t come cheap.
*The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower, aka Met Life. The South Building's tower was designed by the architectural firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons and erected between 1905 and 1909 and was inspired by St Mark's Campanile.
I hope you enjoy my take on Art Deco New York skyscrapers. If you do, please consider purchasing your favourite poster print.