Facing New York

‘The cast of characters in Bruce Gilden’s theatre of the street is outrageous. Sometimes tawdry and out of this world, they are mostly mysterious. To Gilden and his fellow New Yorkers, they’re just neighbours. In broad and simple terms, and with great expressive authority, Gilden has captured the uniquely individualistic, self-styled New York personality on the run. In Gilden’s world, no-one is on the margins of centre stage, they are all star players.’ – Susan Kismaric Originally published in 1992 by Cornerhouse Publications, the imprint of the Manchester Film & Visual Arts Centre of which Dewi Lewis was Founding Director, ‘Facing New York’ was Bruce Gilden’s first major publication. It has since become a recognised classic but has been out of print for some time. For this new edition Bruce has replaced two images, of which he says that he just can’t understand why they didn’t make his original selection. Bruce Gilden has always had a fascination with what he calls ‘characters’. So, for Bruce, New York, with its famously idiosyncratic citizenry and the unique energy of its streets, proved to be a giant creative playground. ‘Facing New York’ sees Bruce and his camera at their highest level of intensity, capturing New Yorkers in moments of utter spontaneity yet still exposing the humanity that lies behind their hardened exteriors.