Clarksville, TN – Guests of the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center from now through September can get a glimpse of city days gone by with the new exhibition New York Revisited: A Photographic Essay by Norman Lerner.
Skyscrapers, steam rising through street vents, newspaper kiosks near subway entrances, women dressed in high-fashion black?there are few cities that everyone can envision in their head without ever stepping foot there other than New York City.
The twenty-six photographs feature all the glamour and character of New York City from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Lerner’s skill at capturing special moments of everyday life is evident in such images as Grand Central Station Waiting Room (1954) to a photograph titled Avid Reader (1957) showing a young man sitting atop a statue at the 5th Avenue Plaza reading “Peyton Place.”
The exhibition was guest co-curated by Sara Lee Burd and Paul Polycarpou. Sara, who has worked with the photographer on his catalogue raisonné, writes, “Lerner’s art strikes tensions between visual elements of light and dark, the context and figure, and symmetry and asymmetry.
Through photography he records authentic views of everyday life and often including surprise elements of subtle storytelling.
Approaching Lerner’s works with an active gaze inspires curiosity as the artist presents honest human expressions.”
In the 1960s, he was founder and chair of the first fashion photography degree program in the United States at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In the 1970s through the mid-1980s, he was a coordinator of the photography studies program at California Polytechnic State University, and remains connected with the university as Professor Emeritus.
For more information contact Terri Jordan, Exhibits Curator, at 931.648.5780 or terri@customshousemuseum.org
About the Customs House Museum
Located in the heart of historic downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is the State’s second largest general museum. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1898 as a U.S. Post Office and Customs House for the flourishing tobacco trade. Incorporating a number of architectural styles, the original structure is one of the most photographed buildings in the region.
With over 35,000 square feet of the region’s best hands-on activities and special events…people of all ages agree – the Customs House Museum is well worth the stop!
The Explorer’s Gallery is packed with fun, learning and fantasy in Aunt Alice’s Attic, McGregor’s Market and kitchen, and of course – the Bubble Cave! Finally, get “all aboard” to see our fantastic model trains. Our volunteer engineers “ride the rails” every Sunday afternoon from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.
Regular museum hours are 10:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays. Adult admission is $7.00, Senior Citizens and College ID $5.00, Ages 6 to 18 $3.00, and under six years and Museum members are free.
The Customs House Museum is located at 200 South Second Street. For more information, call 931.648.5780 or visit their website at www.customshousemuseum.org
