Now Showing: The Museum of the City of New York, the Laurie M Tisch Illumination Fund, and Aperture Foundation present Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Carts Program.
Five emerging artists – LaToya Ruby Frazier, Thomas Holton, Gabriele Stabile, Will Steacy, and Shen Wei – have been commissioned to document the ongoing Green Cart Initiative, which has placed 1000 mobile food carts offering fresh fruit and vegetables throughout the five boroughs. Reflecting on the impact these carts have on individuals and their surrounding communities – many of which have otherwise limited access to fresh produce – the artists photographed the carts themselves, the vendors, customers, and the contrasting commercial/ food landscapes around the carts, contemplating everything from interpersonal relationships to urban culture to the health issues related to food deserts.
And while push carts are a historic urban icon – as demonstrated in the exhibition’s inclusion of some fantastic historical photographs by artists like Berenice Abbott – the show documents the Green Cart Program’s attempt to address the very modern civic issue of unequal access to nutritional foods.
Moveable Feast: Fresh Produce and the NYC Green Carts Program is organized by Sean Corcoran, Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Museum of the City of New York, and Denise Wolff from Aperture Foundation.
Moveable Feast runs through July 10th at the Museum of the City of New York.
*above: Gabriele Stabile, Untitled (From the series: Street Smart), 2009, courtesy of the Artist and Aperture Foundation. Gabriele Stabile documented the daily routines of several vendors, including their interactions with customers into whose homes he was invited, and where he was able to document food preparation and meal time – and the impact of fresh produce on individual.
*above: Gabriele Stabile, Untitled (From the series: Street Smart), 2009, courtesy of the Artist and Aperture Foundation
*above: Berenice Abbott, Hot Dog Stand, April 8, 1936, Collection of the Museum of the City of New York
*above: Thomas Holton, 8th Avenue Traffic, 2010, courtesy of the Artist and Aperture Foundation. Thomas Holton followed a group of vendors – new generation Bengali immigrants – who have found jobs in the program, and who balance their lives here with the needs of their families abroad.
*above: Thomas Holton, Hussain and Two Roommates, 2009, courtesy of the Artist and Aperture Foundation
*above: Thomas Holton, Mohammed and Hussain with a Roommate, 2010, courtesy of the Artist and Aperture Foundation
*above: Alta Ruth Hahn , Pretzel Woman, Hester Street, ca. 1935, Collection of the Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Dr. Robert Drapkin
*above: Will Steacy, Empty Grocery Store on Block Lined with Vacant Buildings, Looking South from Fulton Street & Garvey Avenue, Brooklyn, 2009, courtesy of Artist and Aperture Foundation. Will Steacy depicted the urban landscapes surrounding the Green Carts—the streets, sidewalks, and buildings, the fast food restaurants, bodegas, and markets—revealing without shying away from the reality of challenging living conditions.
*above: Will Steacy, Neighborhood Residents in Front of Tony’s, Looking West from Knickerbocker Avenue & Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, 2010, courtesy of Artist and Aperture Foundation
*above: Will Steacy, Empty Vegetable Stand on Valentines Day, Looking East from 3rd Avenue & 110th Street, New York, 2010, courtesy of Artist and Aperture Foundation
*above: Byron Company, Street Vendors, Hester Street, 1898, Collection of the Museum of the City of New York, Gift of Percy Byron
*Images courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York
