photo_talks: What Moves You?
Harvey Stein
It’s very rare that one photographer has documented a single place over a 50-year period, but Harvey Stein has achieved this with his images of Coney Island taken between 1970 and 2020. The black and white images in his most recent book, Coney Island People 50 Years, provide a sense of the past and history — as well as a current view — of the people and activities in this famous and very diverse locale, on this beach in New York City. The images are mostly taken close to the subjects, employing wide-angle views, and are honest, direct, involving, and occasionally surreal, and capture the wonder and intimacy of this fabled island. Their close observations sweep the viewer into the feel and fun of Coney Island while providing insight and surprise. In discussing his work at Coney Island, Harvey will explore issues of maintaining a creative edge at one place for decades, the virtues of working on long-term projects, and how to form and implement ideas for publishing photo books.
Photographer and writer Virginia Hines leads the conversation and the Q&A after the presentation.
Harvey Stein is a photographer, teacher, lecturer, author, and curator based in New York City. He has had 91 solo exhibitions, has participated in over 170 group shows, and has work in 60 permanent collections. His tenth and most recent book, Coney Island People 50 Years, was published in 2022. Harvey is a long-time faculty member at The International Center of Photography, teaches at the Los Angeles Center of Photography, and has conducted travel photo workshops to Europe, Mexico, South America, Vietnam, India, and China for more then two decades. He was the Director of Photography (2009-2019) at Umbrella Arts, an East Village gallery, and has curated 67 exhibits since 2007. Harvey’s photography is represented by Sous les Etoiles Gallery in New York City.
harveysteinphoto.com
Virginia Hines is a photographer and photography writer based in San Francisco. She is a frequent contributor to Street Photography Magazine, which has featured her in its Year of Women Photographers and two podcast interviews. Her photographs have appeared in many publications, including Portrait of Humanity 2021, The Lancet Global Health (March 2020 cover), L’Oeil de la Photographie, All About Photo, The Independent Photographer, and F-Stop Magazine. Her work has been exhibited in group shows in the US, Europe, and South America. She wrote the introductory essay for Harvey Stein’s book of street photography, Coney Island People 50 Years, and was recently awarded a stipend from the Peter Bullough Foundation for an artist residency in Spring 2024.
