Coney Island, New York
Coney Island, New York. Leon Levinstein. 1953 (Printed c.1980). Gelatin silver print. 16 x 20in. Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
This photo caught my attention more than any of the other images in the LUAG collection. I love how the composition is captured. The foreground of the image is two men who are shirtless and both bald. They seem to be the only two to loo like that upon first glance ,but with a closer inspection I think there are other gentlemen in the photo who are also not wearing shirts. The composition is striking to me because we are not looking at faces, rather we are looking at the backs of heads. This is uncommon this close up. From a long distance, if we were looking at the back of people, we wouldn’t think anything of it, but this close up it seems a bit strange not to capture their faces. From this, we are left with mystery, and we are left thinking, who are these men, what are they doing, and why?