Little West 12th Street: Pelle Cass

1 - 31 May 2023
Little West 12th Street, Pelle Cass
Praise Shadows Art Gallery and Foto Relevance (Houston, Texas) are thrilled to partner in the release of limited edition prints of the widely celebrated photograph by Pelle Cass, Little West 12th Street. Commissioned by New York Magazine for its 18th annual Reasons to Love New York issue (December 5, 2022), Cass photographed and composed 72 people who embody New York right now, in a daylong shoot in honor of the issue celebrating the city's return to its liveliness after years of suffering from pandemic-driven losses. 
 
It is also our honor to announce that Praise Shadows, a gallery based in Brookline, MA, will present a solo exhibition by Cass, also based in Brookline, in early 2024. Please contact gallery@praiseshadows.com for more information.
 
Orders will be shipped within 3-4 weeks from purchase.
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  • About the New York Magazine Cover

    According to New York Magazine editors: 
     
    This year’s edition celebrates the city’s return to spontaneity after years of pandemic-driven loss, including: Lea Michele’s boost to Broadway; the true story of the bishop who was robbed during his church service; New York City’s eager hospitality to migrants sent from Texas; the best block of pizza in New York (it’s in Williamsburg); and more. And for our cover image, we tapped Pelle Cass to photograph 72 people who embody New York right now.

    But how do you get 72 New Yorkers together for one image? We invited them to meet us at a particularly New York–y street corner in the Meatpacking District (Little West 12th and Washington Streets). Cass was perched on the High Line, and he shot folks as they walked through the intersection all day: Spike Lee walked first, then dashed off to the airport. Paul Rudd was his delightful Paul Rudd self, mock-hailing a cab in the crosswalk. Ziwe charmed everyone she met. Chuck Schumer shook hands with everyone (Then he headed back to Washington and, a few hours later, voted on the marriage-equality bill.) Keith McNally came over from Pastis to walk last, and that was a wrap."
     
    And then the rush to deadline began for Cass, who took all those real photos of people — there were 10,912 photos taken that day — and made them into one cover image for us. The final version came together less than 12 hours before it went off to press and thence to you. “It really was like putting on a wedding,” says our photo director, Jody Quon—one where every guest was famous. Afterward, Lee Pace told a staffer, “That was the most interesting thing I did all day.
     
  • About the Artist

    About the Artist

    Pelle Cass is a widely collected and prolific photographer based in Brookline, MA and originally from Brooklyn, NY. He has exhibited at the George Eastman House, the Albright Knox Gallery, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Metamorf Biennial for Art and Technology in Norway. His work is in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum, the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Polaroid Collection, the DeCordova Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the MFA, Houston. Cass’ photos have appeared in books such as Photoviz (Gestalten), Deleueze and the City (Edinburgh University Press), Langford’s Basic Photography (Focal Press), The Beautiful Sparkle: Optical Illusions in Art (Prestel), and in magazines such as Beaux Arts (France), McSweeney’s, FOAM, GQ, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic, and many others. He has received fellowships from Yaddo, Artists Resource Trust, and the Polaroid Collection.
     
    Image courtesy of the artist, self portrait, 2019