Exhibitions: Click! A Crowd-Curated Exhibition

Ian Ference. Brooklyn Naval Hospital, 3.23.08, 2008. All rights reserved

Artist Statement

Canon 5D; a long exposure at daybreak. The Brooklyn Navy Yard, once the economic and cultural center of the neighborhood, is largely dormant. On the Eastern corner, on the NAVSTA Brooklyn campus, Building R95 – a grand hospital from 1830 – rests, more dormant still. From the condition of this NYC Landmark building, few would guess that it supplied one third of the medicines used by Union troops in the War of the Rebellion. At dawn, the Northernmost stairwell in the building is illuminated by the cold light from the skylight; the building battles time and myopic memory.

19 Comments

Interesting information - evocative image.

beautiful. excellent.

Very interesting game with the doors and the textures!

Excellent composition and color tone. Nice shot.

nice image

This reminds us of the forgotten Brooklyn that is steeply rooted in American (war) culture of years past.

this is a great photo it really shows the true state of the country ......when and now...

I have the obvious question of how did you get in the Brooklyn Naval Hospital?

I lived across the street for years and never knew what the inside of those buildings looked like, but because the exteriors were pretty I always imagined myself living there...

This was captured absolutely perfectly.

What a waste ! How and why do we neglect our old friends?

So gorgeous: great light, great lines, beautiful tone. Shows that even destruction can have beauty. I just love it. I wish I could have a copy!

Really beautiful light and sense of mystery. The light seems hopeful, the subject though is decaying. There's ambiguity here that allows for many different readings and it alludes to the theme without being overly explicit about it.

Thank you for the poignant image & informative commentary. American culture is not strong on honoring history. Your subject reminds me how remarkable it is that Ellis Island, featuring a significant & abandoned hospital, is being restored.

Wow - cool lighting, and great composition! — Posted by Allie

Dynamicly sad! — Posted by Nikol

you can almost imagine what it looked like in it's prime. — Posted by LPF

dramatic situation for hospital but original pic — Posted by anonymous

Ethereal and beautiful yet forlorn and dejected. The lighting and everything is just perfect really. I can almost see the people who would have been going up and down these stairs. I would buy a print of this. — Posted by Misty