New work for Airbnb

June 24, 2014

When the dispute between Airbnb and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman heated up last year, I photographed a group of Airbnb hosts organizing. The group organizing put out a petition with this image, eventually amassing over 230,000 signatures.

I also photographed one of Airbnb's co-founders and current CPO, Joe Gebbia.

Joe Gebbia, CPO & Co-Founder, Airbnb — Joe Gebbia, CPO & Co-Founder, Airbnb

The entrance to Kara Walker on Kent Avenue with Domino Sugar Factory sitting beyond the gate.

Kara Walker at the Domino Sugar Factory

May 23, 2014 in art notes, Artist, Brooklyn, Domino Sugar Factory, events, General Art, Installation, my pictures, New York

If you haven't made it out to the Domino Sugar factory, it's a good time to visit. The artist Kara Walker has infused the factory with thought-provoking confectionary sculptures. I visited last weekend to see the installation and revisit the space.

Roberta Smith writes in her New York Times column:

A powerful personification of the most beleaguered demographic in this country — the black woman — shows us where we all come from, innocent and unrefined.

Walker's A Subtlety or The Marvelous Sugar Baby an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant — runs through July 6 at the former Domino Sugar factory: 317 Kent Avenue at South 1st Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It is open Friday 4 – 8 pm, Saturdays and Sundays 12 – 6 pm.

Domino Sugar Sign, Domino Sugar Factory — Domino Sugar Sign, Domino Sugar Factory

Sugar Decay — The Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn waits for its next act.

May 21, 2014 in Brooklyn, my pictures, New York, Projects, Sugar Decay, Domino Sugar Factory

Since I moved to Brooklyn, The Domino Sugar Factory has been a consistent companion. Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge on a windy day, I could smell the sugar. It was always there, a reminder of where I was—not just because of the size of the factory, but the sugar permeated the neighborhood with a rotting reminder of its industrial past. Currently the factory building is home to a monumental installation by artist Kara Walker. Produced by Creative Time, the piece entitled, A Subtlety or the Marvelous Sugar Baby an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant. I encourage everyone to see it.

A few years ago, I shot an editorial piece for The L Magazine and got to know the factory better. At the time, the factory was poised for demolition. The plans never materialized and the complex was sold to Two-Trees, a company based in Dumbo Brooklyn.

Recently, Two-Trees invited a group of photographers into the factory to document the property before they transform the complex into a new neighborhood. I was fortunate to be included among that group. I made a lot of images and here is the initial batch.

UPDATE: see part II of the set here or the whole collection (so far) in the project gallery: Sugar Decay.