When I first read the article in the New York Times…Shadows Return to Ellis Island…I was on a mission. A mission to be part of a small group tour to see firsthand not only the opening of Ellis Island Hospital after 60 years…but also the amazing art installation by the French artist JR.
Oh my…where do I start?
How about how long it took me to get a ticket. Hours on hold…but I persevered and got one of those precious tickets. The folks involved – the Statue Cruises – the National Park Service – and Save Ellis Island were totally unprepared for the massive interest. But anyway, I secured my ticket using lots and lots of patience.
Ellis Island…Today there’s a beautiful restored main building that houses the immigration museum where one can walk the same steps as 12 million others who passed through from 1892 to 1956. One can only imagine the scene of long lines to maneuver the medical and legal inspections to determine if they were fit for entry. And unfortunately many failed due to health reasons…thus the need for building the largest and most modern public health hospital in the early 1900’s. So moving along in history, the hospital has been empty and abandoned since 1954 and in severe states of decay.
Thank goodness we have people that feel the need to preserve the memory by not allowing sites like this to continue to rot away or bulldoze them for something shiny and new. So ticket prices and contributions are doing just that! Thus the making of the Hard Hat Tour of select areas of the 750 bed Ellis Island Hospital. And this is where JR comes into the picture. His installation…Unframed – Ellis Island…brings the hospital to life. He revived a number of portraits from the archives, enlarged them to life-size and pasted them across various walls and broken windows. It’s the present and the past all in one. A-m-a-z-i-n-g.
calcified light fixture
my side view selfie (iphone)
As many of you know, this is THE kind of photography that I love. The old and the decayed…wabi-sabi at its finest. However, it proved to be the most difficult photography I’ve encountered so far. Lighting changed constantly as we made our way from room to room, building to building. In order to see as much as possible, we had to move at a fast pace in a very short amount of time. Of course this provided little time for reflection, much less composing…and oh…ignorant people (thankfully only ten in a group) who stood in the way without even caring about anyone who wanted to photograph. But, like securing my ticket…I persevered and came away with some captures that will always provide me with memories of a very special time in history.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks to everyone for your comments…always makes my day!
Thank you for your perserverence and your amazing photographs! You did a phenomonal job of capturing the the history and feel of the hospital and musuem of Ellis Island.
Unbelievable, that I have never been there and never have to, because I would have never had the patience of dealing with idiotic people or a tenth of talent to see it through your eyes.
Thank you so much, my talented, patient, wonderful friend.
Beautiful, as always.
Love you.
xoxoxo
OMG, BLOW ME OVER Frissy!! This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I remember visiting Ellis Island with you several years ago and was so impressed then, But those photos pasted across walls and broken windows really bring the whole place to life with a HUGE impact. And the way you captured those photos with your photography is just out of this world. Yes, thank you so much for your patience in getting your tickets, and for capturing these moments in time with your amazing photos. Love you. XoXo
Heartfelt thanks for this and for your patience.
Wonderful photos. Thanks for sharing your experience.
It occurs to me, Robin, that your patience and waiting and perseverence were fitting for the memory you were capturing in more ways than one. Thank you for going before us and preparing the way. Thank you for being part of this important restoration project! Thank you for letting us see through your sensitive eyes.
O wow! I can just get a sense of how much you were in heaven in this place Robin. So glad you persevered what wonderful images. Can you go back and get more time there? O I hope so!!
Oh my -what a fascinating place to visit! And your pictures are stunning. It reminds me of the Beelitzer Heilstaetten close to Berlin, a hospital which was built at around the same time.
I visited Ellis Island many yeras ago and thought about the people who came from so far and were turned down .
How wonderful that you had the patience to wait and to obtain tickets! Just looking at the photos gives me goosebumps. Thank you for taking us on the tour!
Your perseverance paid off. You’ve captured not only the place but the thousands of souls that have moved through these buildings in joy, anticipation, confusion, fear and every other emotion these wall have absorbed. Your photos embody the experience.
You never cease to amaze me.
Those images are so moving.
And the idea of working to restore such a remarkable place
is such an incredible story. What a life you’re living:)
thanks for sharing it with the rest of us,
Jennifer
See what happens when you persue your interests? It is obvious you are drawn to this style of photography. This is your strongest work so far. I attempted to write a short piece this weekend on following that small, sometimes muffled voice we all have confined to the deep recesses of our being. This voice, call it what you may, my is called Hildegard, is the key to living your authentic self. Keep listening!
GREAT pictures! I had seen some before, but yours are the best! The light looks perfect, I love the textures and colors – usually I’m not an envious person, but these should be my photos!
im in love wight his series,,, just amazing, so much history, so much power, not so long ago if we really think, how fast things are changing… the inevitable pass of time reflected in objects, so much beauty