Joel Sternfeld - Walking the Highline 2000-01

Unfortunately due to illness I was unable to attend the Bath and Bristol trip, despite this I have taken the time and conducted some independent research.


I remember a lecture the class had a while back concerning the work of Joel Sternfeld and his land/city-scapes.   Seeing that one of my level 5 topics are Landscapes I thought it would be useful to do some research that I can come back to later on.

Walking the Highline, 2000-2001

The high line is a derelict railtrack running along the west side of New York City. Constructed between 1929 and 1934, it is about 1.5 miles long and seven acres in total area and used to be an important vein through the city, transporting goods from all over America into the heart of commerce and industry. A group of dedicated locals have come together to form 'friends of the highline', who are devoted to the preservation and rejuvenation of the space and aim to convert it into a public path similar to the promenade plantée in Paris. American artist Sternfeld photographed the site over a period of eight months, capturing the intersection between landscape and the city in this untamed oasis hidden away and unknown to most.

Bright (2007, p.52)

Walking the Highline, 2000-2001

What I find delightful about Sternfeld's images is that they're a humble collision of a majestic landscape yet it has this overwhelming boundary of the city. The images have this aesthetic beauty towards them that reveal hints of their past, conveying the effect the human presence has had on it. Further to this I find that these images trigger memories, reminding those of the purpose this structure had. Visually the photograph draws the audience in, you feel as if your part of the image and that your walking across this new surface of earth, perhaps a journey of discovery?