Brian McDonald

@brianstorm.ing

590 Followers 778 Following

Artist living in New York City Ridgewood 🇺🇸🇨🇱🇵🇸 I ride my bike on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrianMcDonald

Screenshot of a MIT News Article: "MIT engineers design an aerial microrobot that can fly as fast as a bumblebee With insect-like speed and agility, the tiny robot could someday aid in search-and-rescue missions. Adam Zewe | MIT News December 3, 2025 A time-lapse photo shows a flying microrobot performing a flip." https://news.mit.edu/2025/mit-engineers-design-aerial-microrobot-fly-like-bumblebee-1203
Actor Gerard Butler poses while broadcasting chest with a friend in front of NYC Artist Brian McDonald's "The Mayor is Right" sculpture on the streets of SoHo.
An artwork created by NYC Artist Brian McDonald that features a resin sculpture of NYC Mayor Eric Adams' face that is made to look more like a white marble-like material. While his face is a 3-dimensional object, it is cut off before his ears and is emerging from a black 16"x16" acrylic panel. The acrylic panel has holographic vinyl lettering attached to it which create a mesmerizing wall of text that show the ideology and practices of Eric Adams as mayor: "DEFUND SCHOOLS PUNISH THE HOMELESS APATHY SOLITARY CONFINEMENT SCAPEGOAT ASYLUM SEEKERS PRIVATIZATION FEARMONGER AUSTERITY ENRICH DEVELOPERS CLOSE LIBRARIES PROFIT OVER PEOPLE EXPAND THE POLICE STATE NYPD ABOVE ALL IGNORE GENOCIDE STOP AND FRISK PRIVATIZATION DEFUND LIBRARIES INCARCERATION INACTION APATHY PUNITIVE POLICIES CRIMINALIZE POVERTY ENRICH DEVELOPERS PROFIT OVER PEOPLE IGNORE CORRUPTION SCAPEGOAT ASYLUM SEEKERS FEARMONGER CORRUPTION CRUSH DISSENT CUT PUBLIC SERVICES EXPAND THE POLICE STATE EMBRACE APARTHEID TECH IGNORE GENOCIDE INACTION PUNISH THE HOMELESS CUT EDUCATION PUNITIVE POLICIES NYPD ABOVE ALL"
A screenshot showing a Google search AI summary that no one asked for that says: "Al Overview: According to City & State New York, Many South Asian voters love Andrew Cuomo for his successful advocacy for debt relief for taxi medallion holders, which included a 15-day hunger strike in 2021. This information is also present in another article by *City & State New York*. However, other news articles from the period describe a hunger strike by excluded workers who were protesting for state aid for immigrants, not Cuomo himself. Therefore, there might be conflicting information or a misunderstanding regarding Cuomo's participation in a hunger strike. It's important to cross-reference multiple sources and consider the context of each claim to determine..." The text fades out before a "Show More" button gives the ability to read more text that doesn't make sense or possess any factual data. Bye bye, love you!
10 year old Brian was so excited he passed the open book test to become a USA hockey certified ice hockey referee that he wanted to pose for a photo of wearing his full uniform at home in his bedroom. He ironed on the USA Hockey 95/96 Official's patch he earned to the chest of the smallest referee jersey his family could find, and he donned a pretty fresh black colored Cooper HH3000 helmet with white ear loops and chin strap. He got into "puck dropping position" where a referee would typically stand at the face off dot before skillfully and quickly distributing the puck to the ice without it bouncing and then moving out of the way of the action without getting hit by anything. This entire scene culminated with Brian, slightly crouched, holding a galvanized rubber hockey puck in his preferred left-handed dropping grip, and demonstrating the importance of protecting the groin area from out of control hockey sticks with his right hand. In that moment, Brian had his brother Michael take a photo of him, which you have now been presented with :)
A New York Times excerpt that reads "His (Brad Lander's) campaign appeared to move quickly to capitalize on his arrest, with his wife, Meg Barnette, posting a video of the episode from Mr. Lander's official campaign account on social media."
A New York Times Opinion piece from multiple members of the editorial board titled "There's a Big Market for Fighters Now': Four Opinion Writers on the Democratic Party and Andrew Cuomo" from March 6, 2025 Article link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/opinion/andrew-cuomo-mayor-new-york-city.html
@philsustainability.bsk.social says: "DSA's anti-corporate vibe is like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Remember Amazon HQ2? 25k jobs, billions in investment, gone, because of a victory lap no one asked for. Now NYC has vacant offices and lower tax revenue to pay for schools. Businesses aren't Thanos; they're job engines."
A pixelated stylized image of a "cut out" Andrew Cuomo on the left side that looks like it's on a vintage Nokia cell phone screen. On the right side, there is a quotation of his that showing how he plans on fighting right wing authoritarianism facing the city and country that states: "They're gonna send in ICE to New York. They are going to do things that are illegal and unconstitutional. But, Let's not overreact."
A gravel racing bike that has yet to be released is being ridden by professional cyclist Marianne Vos as she raced to victory at 3RIDES gravel race in Aachen, Germany. The bike is a white Cervelo frame with aerodynamic features and special world championship livery to respect its operator's status. Photo by Leon Van Bon
A person using a walker to aid them in walking around NYC looks ahead to the car driver who has elected to stop in the crosswalk on Houston st, preventing access to the pedestrian island that is vital to their making it across safely as they can't cross the full street in one signal duration.
This photograph shows two buildings that neighbor each other on 59th street in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The two buildings have quite a bit of space between them, as they aren't immediate neighbors. Even though there is plenty of space around the buildings, the photograph compresses the depth into a 2-Dimensional plane. The photograph shows the south side of a brown brick building, with a cluster of dark antique pane windows that have stone borders, on the left side of the photo; and the west-facing side (that looks at the brown building) of a tan brick apartment building, with clusters of large rectangular windows reflecting light and air conditioning vents under them, to the right side of the photo. While walking a certain direction and slowly arriving to a specific position on the sidewalk, you create a frame between the buildings that shifts as you move in any direction. The tan building at the upper portion has what looks like an angled extrusion and it makes that frame have a triangular crop at the top part of the "slice" between buildings. Inside the slice is another apartment building with orange-ish brick and a single column cluster of windows. At the top of the building are green tree leaves visible, and the tan building's triangle crop extrusion makes the tree look like a tree "line". At the bottom half of the slice there is a tiled roof of a church visible, and the shape of it mimics the angled extrusion of the tan building. At the bottom left of the photo is the top portion of a tree with green leaves, which frames the visual connection made in the photograph (the two trees only see each other from this frame) as well as how the photograph was made (slowly rocking around while seemingly looking up at nothing on a city street next to a hospital 😂)
A photograph of a large apartment building that has small setback features in its design that is taken at a somewhat extreme angle, where you see what could be hundreds of apartment windows, and the small setbacks make it look like an infinite deck of cards being shuffled in the air. This is where the title, "Dealing the deck of domiciles" comes from. The windows have varying shades of blue and their mosaic orientation creates an abstraction of the cloudy sky they reflect. At the top left of the photograph, a small rectangular bit of the actual sky is seen. A small cluster of windows are dark in appearance as they have a different coating on them.
A New York Times Headline screenshot: "New York's Crackdown on E-Bikes Is Unfair Enforcement, Critics Say In what they say is a new safety campaign, the police are issuing summonses that may lead to arrest for cyclists who break the city's traffic laws."
A YouTube suggestion for me to create a video titled: NYC Cyclists Breaking the Rules: A Commute Through Traffic Mayhem The chaotic reality of cycling in New York City is explored through the... • Very popular topic with your viewers
Footage of NYPD officers biking the wrong direction and blowing through a red light and cutting off pedestrians who have the walk signal.
Footage of NYPD officers riding bicycles at various levels of competence in the wrong direction, which has recently been deemed a criminal act by NYPD commissioner Tisch.
A political ideology breakdown from a Marist poll of likely NYC Democratic primary voters: Very Liberal: 25% Liberal: 33% Moderate: 31% Conservative: 7% Very Conservative 3% https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/nyc-mayors-race-may-2025/
A NYC crosswalk being blocked by cars and a car blocking an intersection after a failed depth perception and timing test. Three different offenses create an unsafe environment for pedestrians yet are seen as allowable acts in the face of a criminal crackdown against cyclists for low level offenses.
Screenshot of a Nextdoor post from Brooklyn, NY: "Debra T. Park Slope (12St-5Ave) • 3 days ago • Edited Bikers Now Ticketed for Traffic Violations: THANK YOU! "The policy shift replaces standard traffic tickets for bicyclists with criminal court summonses for violations such as running red lights or failing to stop at stop signs." I cannot tell you how angry I get at bicyclists who feel they are above the law and traffic rules don't apply to them! A major problem is the design of our streets - and I offer no solution. But when a car is making a right turn into a, let's say, McDonald's, it's hard to see a fast-moving cyclist crossing the driveway - even when you slow down. They don't even THINK about the fact that they may literally be driving into traffic! You don't have that problem on streets with no bike lanes because there is no lane to cross when turning. You DO, of course, watch for pedestrians who are moving slower than speeding bicyclists. While turning into a McDonald's one day, I slowed down and a bicyclist RAN INTO ME! My car was dented and mirror knocked off. And, yes, he was hurt. I called 911 and he went by ambulance to the hospital. But when the police came, he said I hit HIM! The police looked and said, "If she had hit you, you'd be laying on the ground halfway across this parking lot." HE got a simple summons. But guess who had to pay to repair the dent and new mirror? I hope this law makes bicyclists more aware and accountable."
A Black Cervelo Soloist road bike that is positioned in front of the same Fort Green Park door and structure that was photographed by Andy (@longlonghandle.bsky.social) from a different perspective.
A New York Times Article discussion featuring a comment by "Stumpy Dowd" that says: "Cuomo doesn't need a 'Campaign Strategy' to win against the current field of competition. His current strategy could be 'Just Show Up' and he would do just fine on election day." Followed by a response by NYT City Hall Bureau Chief Emma Fitzsimmons that reads: "@Stumpy Dowd some voters aren't satisfied with the other candidates in the field, and Cuomo has a substantial lead in the polls. But New Yorkers do expect a certain amount of visibility and want to see candidates discussing the issues. Cuomo is releasing policy plans; he's also avoiding his opponents and local reporters which is a departure from other recent mayors and candidates." From this New York Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/nyregion/cuomo-mayor-campaign-strategy.html
An excerpt from the originally mentioned New Yorker Interview with Deborah Lipstadt: "But the Jewish students on campus who have no way to bring their grievances, or, when they bring a grievance find that the university doesn't take it seriously-which has been the case at a number of our most élite universities— they give up on the university. One of the calculations when applying for college now is: Will I feel safe there as a Jew?"
A freeze frame from the Powerpuff Girls cartoon showing a character named Abracadaver, a zombie magician. Abracadaver is pointing at his watch to make you look at it to become hypnotized and lost forever!!! Don't do it! NO!!!
The visual composition of this photograph is just about split into two halves: The left side features a brick co-op building built in 1903, and the right side is mostly made up of 1700 Broadway, an office building built in the late 1960s which has a modern dark metal and glass construction. Yellow ceiling lights are visible in the lower levels of the office building, and various curtain configurations in the other windows create a mosaic of sorts. At the upper height there is an architectural setback which gives room for some kind of deck where a tree is growing. While the brick building has five stories of typical apartment windows and a small extrusion to the building that gives one column of north facing windows that are perpendicular to the west facing windows, Near the middle of the frame, the eastern side of the previously mentioned building extrusion is a windowless facet of the building, and the uniform wall of bricks is broken up by a solid white polygonal shape that shows the junction where a building that once connected to the co-op building used to be. After the building was torn down, the areas that were in contact were painted white. This is where the connection to the name of the photograph comes; "A Two-dimensional Memorial for a Three-dimensional Memory" is what the white painted shape represents, even though there are other more subtle signs that show the effects of the relationship that existed between two neighboring buildings. The colors of the bricks become lighter in the lower levels where light, grime, and other wear and tear was less with the departed building's protection. There is also a slight optical illusion in this photograph where the white painted shape meeting the right side office building can trick you into thinking that the two buildings are next to each other in an east/west direction rather than being on opposing north south corners. The demolished building was originally a Ford Motors showroom building built in 1919.
A screenshot of the pre-blocked post I was replying to that I'm showing to provide context to my reply since the person I replied to would rather block me than face a slight challengr. The OP article was about journalistic malpractice related to the New York Times failing to provide factual context to many of Andrew Cuomo's misconduct records as governor of NY. The BSky user Lee Rowan chose to ignore everything in the article (either by not reading it or choosing to make a statement igoring the evidence provided) and said: "I have no idea what his personal life was about but I do know that he got New York through COVID. I also see the pattern of how ANY Democrat who might run for Prez gets accused of sexual misconduct. Franken, Cuomo, even Biden... Franken never got an investigation and I wish HE would run again." Now you know the context! Love you!
A juxtaposed image split in half, with the top half showing a New York Times headline: "'There's a Big Market for Fighters Now': Four Opinion Writers on the Democratic Party and Andrew Cuomo" The bottom half shows a photograph of NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani confronting Trump Admin Border Czar Tom Homan in Albany, reflecting the very fighting spirit the opinion writers spoke about (even though they attached the "fighter" moniker to Andrew Cuomo who is on the record saying he wants to work with the Trump Administration. NY Times Article: Zohran Mamdani photo by Austin C Jefferson (featured in this City & State New York article covering the same event: https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2025/03/zohran-mamdani-mayoral-candidate-who-confronted-trump-border-czar-flooded-racist-abuse-and-threats/403748/)
New York Times Article excerpt about Andrew Cuomo launching his mayoral campaign. The article text is: In a 17-minute video announcing his run, Mr. Cuomo, 67, attempted to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers on his preferred terms: as a tested manager, law-and-order moderate and forceful leader capable of rescuing a city that he said “feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.” He blamed “failed Democratic leadership” but did not explicitly mention Mr. Adams, and (the following part is highlighted for emphasis) said he would try to work with President Trump where he could. Article excerpt from: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-mayor-nyc.html
The photograph presents the corner of a block in New York City, and the composition features two buildings that kind of merge together visually into a megamass of architectural features. At the left there is a small portion of the photo taken up by Hearst Tower, a futuristic looking geometric glass/metal structure with triangle shaped windows that have rectangular grids within them. The metal framing of the triangles are getting hit with direct light and stand out quite a bit for that reason. To the right of that is the primary visual element of the photo, which is the southeast corner of the Symphony House Building. It's a large residential building with commercial space on the lower levels, and almost the entire south side of the building is peppered with balconies in direct sunlight and on the east side of the building you see relatively normal looking apartment windows that are in shade. The lower part of the building has a different look to it with square polished stone panels and clusters of 3 or 4 square windows that have a beveled shape to the corner compared to the upper part of the building's more square edge. The convergence of the three parts of the building make it look like they aren't part of the same structure. The compressed focal length of the photo pushes the balconies very close together to create what looks like a generative pattern, and areas of the building that are in shade are still lit by surrounding buildings reflecting the direct sunlight hitting them. All of these elements come together to present a surreal scene, which is why I titled it "The Fortress of Architectural Creation", a place where building elements and features just emerge like some kind of assembly line.
A screenshot of an NBC news article titled "Both Trump and Harris say they'll build more border wall. In this county, the parts have been waiting, and rusting, since 2021." The article excerpt text reads: "Back in 2018, Kamala Harris and other Democrats labeled then-President Donald Trump’s wall a vanity project that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars. Harris even went so far as to post online that the barrier was “un-American.” Now, as a candidate for president, her border security plan includes filling in strategic sections of the wall along the nearly 2,000-mile southwest border, given her endorsement of the failed bipartisan bill that she now says is the foundation of her border policy." The excerpt is from this NBC news article: https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/trump-harris-border-wall-arizona-rusting-2021-rcna173094
This photo encapsulates some of my feelings about generative AI & my current thoughts of the state of human existence. The composition is a compressed cityscape looking south towards Columbus Circle in New York City. The right side primarily features the Museum of Arts and Design building in slight shadow with other buildings in sunlight behind it. The Museum has many grid-like elements of different materials, with most wide & short metal tiles that have a brick-like appearance. In between those parts are floor to ceiling windows showing parts of the museum's interior. The windows make the shape of a H, & inside the bottom negative space of the H is the rear of a statue of Christopher Columbus. He stands with his right arm reaching back to grip a sword. The left side of the image is much darker, & it looks like a residential building with many large window bays that seems to exist on a different plane, because the building is warped in appearance fluidly, as is the large tree and street light that are visible in front of the building. While that building is just a reflection in another building's glass exterior, it serves as my visual analog of generative AI, a twisted & dark recreation of our world. The title "Looking out at a world that was not designed for you" has several levels aside from the obvious tie in to the Museum of Arts and Design building. We look at a scene that encapsulates so many wrongs currently happening. Generative AI must be accepted despite it's creation relying on the mass theft of imagery with no mind paid to the cruelty levied upon the creative industries that made its conception possible. Should this come as a surprise in a society that glorifies past figures of colonial conquest & indigenous genocide while it also supports and aids current settler colonial genocide? At first glance it could seem like the "classical man" of Columbus would be disconnected from the modern world, but he unfortunately stands very much embedded into it.
New York Times Article excerpt about Andrew Cuomo launching his mayoral campaign. The article text is: In a 17-minute video announcing his run, Mr. Cuomo, 67, attempted to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers on his preferred terms: as a tested manager, law-and-order moderate and forceful leader capable of rescuing a city that he said “feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.” He blamed “failed Democratic leadership” but did not explicitly mention Mr. Adams, and (the following part is highlighted for emphasis) said he would try to work with President Trump where he could. Article excerpt from: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-mayor-nyc.html
At the left and right edges of this photograph, there are two vertical slivers of bricks that make up the facades of two buildings that neighbor each other in New York City. Between the two buildings are angled lines of bricks showing the perspective of the scene, and within that space there are three vertical columns with the center column being a different color and the right column having 4 slivers of windows in a vertical line. Viewing the scene as a whole, the architectural features and the crop of the image create an abstraction of sorts that can trick your eye into seeing things in a slightly different way. Is the angle of the image from above? from below? Is it a collage and not a photograph? Is it real? All these questions tie into the title "The Elusive Angles of Justice", where the visual phenomena in the image serve as a metaphor to what is right and wrong in the world and how we can allow ourselves to believe one thing or the other regardless of facts or what best serves humanity.
A Centered New York City apartment building made of brick that is painted a light color is flanked to the left by a building with three stories of four-window bays that present as a sliver taking up the entire left side edge. The first building has multiple angles showing varied levels of light, and light reflected off of other buildings is hitting it. The dominating subject of the photo is behind and above the apartment building. It is a building that seems to have multiple setbacks in it's design that give it a stairlike appearance and the entire building has scaffolding around it with a white semi translucent tarp covering it which gives a very ghostly feel and appearance. The multitude of pipework in the scaffolding shows through the covering and gives it a larger than life feeling due to its unusual appearance. The ghostly and seemingly all-encompassing nature of the background building ties in with the "Haunted by the Housing Market" title, as I was exploring changing my living situation at the time of creation. Looking for a place to live in NYC is a scary and not super enjoyable experience when you aren't making huge amounts of money!
A south-facing view of Houston Street in New York City, taken technically while standing in Greenwich Village. A side view of a building takes up most of the space in the photograph, and above it are two water towers getting hit by an early afternoon sun from the right. While there are typical apartment windows toward the rear of the building side, the front part is windowless due to a mural space that is in the process of having something painted on it. The mural is an ad for luxury brand Cartier, and there are what looks like sketched out parts ready to be painted in. There’s a handbag on the left side, and on the right is a person with the top part of their hair and face/ears painted in with color which gives an idea of what the finished product would look like. Below it is space for the brand logo and some text. Right at the top of the mural is a suspended platform where workers stand to do the painting. At the front of the building, you see typical cast-iron architecture features looking down. On the right side of the photo is a brutalist building with a grid of window openings with a green tree emerging from the right border in front of it. At the bottom right there is a cluster of orb lights that aren't lit. The sky has some slightly dramatic clouds, and off in the distance you can see One World Trade Center looming large. The title "The Corrupted Canvas of SoHo" is a visual commentary on the neighborhood of SoHo, which was once a haven for artists. It is now dominated by wealth and luxury retail brands, and this change in lifeblood is also evident in the spaces that were once held for large public art. The mural, and the artistic creativity/talent involved in its creation, is only allowed to be executed when it serves commerce. The looming World Trade Center, far away but still very present, stands as a symbolic beacon for this transformation; one of many unfortunate tales in the saga of our society's never ending greed.
In the NYC Subway, there are some stations that have little shops on the platform where one can purchase newspapers, snacks, and other goods. In this photograph, we see a side window into one of these. The window is framed by three large stainless steel panels that reflect the surrounding light of the station while also displaying long-term wear of the metal. At the top of the window is a white text on black background sign that says “NEWSSTAND”, and below it is a plexiglass panel that is broken up into a grid by the interior shelves that display the rear end of products for sale like headphones, candy, and snacks. A large portion of the window on the bottom left side is cut out for a circular fan that is taped to the window area with multiple layers of clear packing tape that reflects the subway light. The fan is a metal wire design, and the three spinning blades of the fan are frozen in a position that reveals a man’s spectacle-adorned face between two blades at the top of the fan’s circle. His maroon shirt is visible through the bottom left fan gap, and a wrist with a gloved hand is visible at the bottom right. The Title, “Vent Out the Bad News”, carried multiple sentiments at the time of creation. The country was well into Donald Trump’s first term as president, as primary season was in full swing. At that time, COVID-19 was beginning its hold over the city while the city publicly downplayed its initial arrival. The progressive movement was dealt heavy blows by the conservative campaigns that saw Joe Biden slated to be the Democratic nominee for president. The inadequacy of the maskless man’s ventilation system in the face of what was to come in the form of a global pandemic correlates to the same ways our for-profit health Industry would never put humanity above their lust for never ending profits, as well as the political leaders who were unfit for the many challenges ahead. we see the consequences of all of these dynamics in the world we live in today.
A listing for a studio apartment in the 11226 zip code that costs $1699/mo compared to the affordable housing lottery listing's $3,423/mo studios. By NYC standards, you need to earn $67960/year to qualify for this apartment (calculation is rent multiplied by 40).
A graph showing census data: In the 11226 zip code, the median income for individuals in 2022 was $39,131 and for households it was $75,947
A spreadsheet from an affordable housing listing that shows there are 4 studio apartments, 5 one bedrooms, and 10 two bedrooms available in this lottery. All listings are priced at 130% of the area median income, with studios priced at $3423/mo, 1br at $3661/mo, and 2br at $4376/mo. At the lowest end you need to earn $117,360/yr and at the highest you need to earn $218,010/yr. All units have an asset limit of $201,890.
A render of a NYC building that is attached to an affordable housing lottery listing for "2605 Synder Avenue Apartments Address: 2605 Snyder Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11226 Units: 19 Household Sizes: 1-5 people Income Levels Served: $117,360 - $218,010 Application Deadline: February 25, 2025"
An article excerpt that shows the mindset of the donor class that the Democratic party is prioritizing over its voting constituents: “There is a significant fear that these tech folks, who have been with us for a long time, will say, ‘fuck it, we’re going with the other guys,’” said Alex Hoffman, a Democratic donor adviser who works with donors across the country but did not attend the event. “These donors are also pissed, watching former and current colleagues have unlimited, unchecked power, and getting richer off of this and they’re not." article text from: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/07/hakeem-jeffries-silicon-valley-donors-00203076
A New York Times headline: "Republican Leaders in Congress Meet With Netanyahu The sessions come after President Trump made a surprise proposal to take over Gaza and send Palestinians elsewhere." https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/us/politics/republicans-netanyahu.html
A surprisingly non paywalled article from Politico, with the headline: Hakeem Jeffries met privately with Silicon Valley donors in bid to ‘mend fences.’ The meeting comes as the tech world has lurched rightward in the second Donald Trump era. Below is a photograph of Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, raising his hand to softly ask permission to speak, as he has in his own words has said he is powerless against a Republican controlled government.
Tuesday, February 4th 2025 - Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, American patriot and standard bearer of democracy, leads a passionate protest in front of a crowd that is either about to fall asleep or is deep in thought about how disappointed they are that this is the person who is supposed to be representing and fighting against existential threats to humanity. (AP photo)
A New York Times headline: "Republican Leaders in Congress Meet With Netanyahu" followed by "The sessions come after President Trump made a surprise proposal to take over Gaza and send Palestinians elsewhere."
This photograph is a wide angle view of two gigantic buildings in a relatively early stage of construction where reinforced concrete columns create a grid and the negative space of the grid is mostly filled by orange construction mesh that shows a very saturated orange while also being see through enough to see the horizontal levels of the buildings. A couple of the lower levels on the left side building have purple insulation boards with smaller cutouts for eventual windows. The left side building is a rectangular shape that shows nine stories, and the right side is a T shaped building with the same amount of stories. Both buildings continue upwards beyond the top crop line. There is a small sliver of sky between the two buildings, and the bottom of the sliver reveals a small apartment building sandwiched between them as the large new buildings, a classic example of a lone holdout against new construction where the new construction fills as much space as possible. The title connects that literal concept with some metaphors to other similar dynamics of gentrification and settler colonialism which at the time of capture was relating to the dynamics of Israel and Palestine.
This photograph shows some things I found to be a visual trademark of a neighborhood that is new to me. There are three buildings on view, at the foreground a white and blue line of garage doors in a single story structure with an orange/red roof. It is a narrow tiled roof material and the other two buildings have them on their upper edges as well. On the right side of the image is a orange painted facade with no windows. The only decoration is dark streaks cascading down from the roof, and some a/c units and vents above it. On the left side of the background is a brown/reddish brick building with 2 or 3 stories and one row of four visible windows with a roof above that has an elevated stairway access structure capped off by a skylight next to a chimney. The photo was taken at sundown so there is a faint pinkish tint to the sky that adds a layer of depth to the otherwise flat appearing composition.
A photograph looking down a New York City street that shows multiple buildings and a series of other buildings at the end of the block. Although the photograph is showing depth, the composition makes each building part appear like a kind of flat tile that gives a 2 dimensional illusion to a 3 dimensional space. At the bottom right corner of the photo is a tree with green leaves. The block's end buildings, as well as the buildings leading down the street on the left side, are all kind of angled toward the tree, as the very back building at the top right of the frame has architectural elements pointing to the right, which is where the name of the photo "Buildings contemplating Trees" ties everything together.
This photograph presents a series of buildings on 57th street in New York City, also known as "Billionaire's Row." Seven buildings are shown in a compressed view that visually flattens the deep landscape into a more 2 dimensional looking image. Overall, the right side of the image appears darker as the buildings are in shade while the buildings on the left side are in sunlight. Going from right to left (foreground to background), there's a sliver of of an older brick building that has supposed luxury apartments, and behind it to the left is a brown brick commercial office building owned by an equity company, and behind that is the Lefrak building which is a major landlord/developer behemoth, and then behind that is just the top of the gilded hotel "Aman NY" which is owned by a Russian oligarch, and behind/above that is Trump tower. At the very left of the frame there are two buildings being hit with the most light, the first being the IBM building, and behind it is at the top left is 432 Park avenue, one of the most expensive places to live in NYC with many of the properties owned by mega rich foreign nationals that don't even live there, as well as other super wealthy celebrities and Industry leaders. The title "Worship the hierarchy of Capital" gives a visual metaphor of how so many parts of NYC living are inaccessible to working class and poor people, and how the rich and powerful band together and have solidarity with each other while harming the general public's ability to sustain a living. Some of them pretend to be critical of each other and some excuse warranted areas of criticism all in the goal of propping up and fighting for the system that benefits them.
A photo of cropped buildings is presented in 5 visual columns:2 thinner columns on the left/right photo edge & a wider center column taking up the majority of the frame. Starting left,the 1st vertical column is a red brick building w/ 3 pairs of windows, 2 dark slivers in the brick with 2 stone window sills visible in the top/middle set of windows that stand out w/their lighter color against the dark/deep red of the brick.The next 2nd column from left is a little narrower & shows 6 flights of black metal zig zagging external fire escape stars, & a pattern is created from each flight’s composition, which has a doorway with a light above it, & a single window to the left of it that can be seen behind the zig zagging stairs. Every door except the top one has a light on above it; the top window & the bottom 2 windows have lights on behind them while the others are dark. There are 3 pipes going up the building right along the “seam” between the 1st column & the 2nd. The 3rd and largest column shows a large surface area of brick with no windows on the entire face of the building. There is a light colored brick border on the left,then a long stretch of reddish brick in the middle, & then a right border of light/dark grey brick. The next column is narrower & is the face of the building with the long brick surface, but it is covered by blue construction scaffolding & translucent tarps covering it that creates a gradient of dark to light when looking left to right but you can see the scaffolding and background elements through the tarp. The final column is an office building with 8 stories that have three visible windows with the fourth (first on left) is seen through the tarp. Most of the windows are dark, but the second story from the bottom has bright lights & the 5th floor up has some lights on as well. The title of the piece connects with the center brick column, where the uninterrupted brick surface allows you to look into it and see many things, maybe even your future!
A photograph taken at night in the streets of New York during a rain storm. There is somewhat of a 2D view presented, almost like a side scrolling video game level. In the background starting right, there is an entrance to a residential building just peaking out of the edge of the right side. To the left of it is another part of the building that comes out more into the sidewalk and is two stories of stone/brick construction with the lower window having a square bottom and a circular top, and then the floor above is solely rectangular. Transitioning away from the residential building from right to left features a closed business with gray metal security gate that is pulled down with a few stairs in front of it. Moving from right to left of that part of the building there are two window bays that feature some kind of masonry/cement instead of glass. On the ground are random bits of rubbish and a no parking sign lying fallen on the sidewalk. Raindrops are frozen in motion, with some streaks larger than others, and the whole scene is lit up by a NYPD tower that has multiple high power lights connected to a generator. The Generator is housed by a two wheeled box featuring NYPD branding. Below the previously mentioned column of windows on the right side of the frame is a person in a blue puffer jacket with the hood protecting them from the rain, frozen mid stride as their left foot steps in front of their right with the right toes still planted on the ground, and their left arm swinging forward, displaying a bare hand; the only thing unprotected from the elements. The scene is presented with the title “When light becomes a weapon”as it exemplifies the ways in which policing fails in addressing community needs and shows how inconsiderate half measures do more harm to the residents of a neighborhood under the illusion of safety.
A photograph taken in Ridgewood, Queens that shows a series of toe story buildings from the rear, with windows breaking up the plaster/cement texture of the structures. On the left a fence stands at the edge, while I'm the right another brick structure takes up the edge with a dark blue paint that makes it stand out from the other buildings. Near the center of the photo is a trunk of a wooden utility pole that carries various utility cables. On both the left and right side of the poll are two tall narrow wooden ladder structures that were either for clotheslines or some kind of fire escape. On the right of the right ladder is a backyard basketball hoop/backboard and on the left is the most visually dominant element: A large with tree long more vertically oriented branches that reach up to the sky with red leaves at the end forming little bushes. Most of the image is in shadow but the setting sun is lighting a small slice of the image from the right of the frame. The tree is very bright with sunlight, with each branch glowing in one direction and illuminating the red leaves in a fiery way. bits of the ladders are lit up by the sun, with small bits of light hitting the utility pole. The basketball hoops is also lit up, with various power and cable lines getting some beams of light against them. The image compresses the depth between foreground and background so overall the subject(s) feels more 2D than normal.
A Photograph taken in Ridgewood Queens depicts a grid-like geometric composition. On the bottom third of the frame, there is a brick structure that has orange wooden garage doors, which is a kind of structure you see around Ridgewood. Above that, on the left side, there are small residential buildings with off white siding, and a brick building behind them. Behind the cluster of small buildings is a large newly constructed building that stands multiple stories above the others. It is darkly colored with yellow lines intersecting its geometric features, has no windows, and shows the contrast of existing neighborhood residences to the stark lifelessness and sterility of the new construction building that was built as cheaply and haphazard as possible while charging rents that are far greater than the market rates of the neighborhood, which will drive up prices and force longtime residents out. The title of the photograph “All neighborhoods unvaccinated against gentrification” ties the visual elements together to the rapid expansion of “luxury apartments” that has dominated the real estate ecosystem in NYC, and while they claim to be addressing the housing crisis, they serve to make it worse by prioritizing the profits of developers/landlords/management companies over the ability of New Yorkers to afford a place to live.
A photograph taken in New York City looking up at some foreground buildings made of brick and long vertical windows on the right side of the composition with a "sky" behind it made up of a futuristic glass building with a geometric shape pattern built into it. The glass building has an otherworldly look to it, and it has the appearance that it is growing and absorbing all in it's path. In parts of the glass building you can see lights within as well as reflections of surrounding buildings. The title "The artificial generative Behemoth must and will consume everything" ties this concept to the themes of AI generative algorithms that steal artwork and imagery to fuel its datasets, and the geometric glass building gives it a visual representation in how every aspect of society will feel the effects of AI in harmful ways, from the exploitation and theft of trillions of artworks/photos/images to the creative industries who are not only victims of the theft but victims of the threat to their industry that generative AI poses.