Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C. Possibly 1973 - 1994

Richard Gordon made this black and white photograph called *Fifth Avenue, N.Y.C.* I’m curious about how this image came into being. There's a landscape with the beach receding back into the ocean, then there are these shoes lined up, like models, like the Rockettes. The whole thing is shot through a window so you get the reflections of the city, too. What was he thinking when he decided to juxtapose the beach with these elegant heels? Maybe it's about bringing the beach to the city, a kind of longing for nature in the urban landscape? He was perhaps commenting on the artificiality of fashion by contrasting it with the natural world. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation with each other, borrowing and remixing ideas, pushing the boundaries of what art can be. Painting, photography, the urban and natural world, it's all up for grabs and anything is possible.