Artist’s Statement:
Coming Soon is an exploration of our visual relationship with the branded city centers and the commercial environment we live in. In recent years huge billboards have enveloped the commercial hubs of New York City. The branding of the cityscape has become so ubiquitous, that the colorful, monumental advertisements, looming over the narrow streets, seem to be virtually unnoticed by the passersby. Giant billboards both dominate the urban landscape and blend into the background. Monumental figures are displayed in an effort to create our culture while they represent it in the same time. This new series of pictures continues to explore the relationship between the near-future illusions and physical reality. While new and advanced ways of consuming information create a growing world of virtual, mobile, and personalized ads, the city itself becomes an advertising medium. The immense billboards gradually permeate the whole city, from SoHo to Time Square. Always in the peripheral vision, these ads turn pedestrians into passive spectators. People inhabiting the space underneath are pulled, unaware, into a staged set, as the reality of the street merges with the commercial fantasy of the advertisements.
Artist’s Bio:
Natan Dvir is a photographer who focuses on the human aspects of political, social and cultural issues. He received his MBA from Tel Aviv University and his MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts (NY), after which he became an adjunct faculty member at the International Center of Photography (ICP). Based in New York City he photographs around the world represented by Polaris Images photo agency and Anastasia Photo gallery. Natan’s main projects were exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, South America and Israel including the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), Portland Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art (Cleveland), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Blenton Museum of Art (Austin), Southeast Museum of Photography (Daytona), International Center of Photography (New York), Blue Sky Gallery (Portland, OR), Anastasia Photo Gallery (New York), Schneider Gallery (Chicago), Houston Center for Photography, Center for Photography in Woodstock, Museo de Antioquia (Medellin), Festival de la Luz (Buenos Aires), War Photo Museum (Dubrovnik), the Central European House of Photography (Bratislava), Christie’s (London), Kultur Bahnhof Eller (Düsseldorf), Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and Museum on the Seam (Jerusalem). Natan’s work has been published by leading international magazines including The New York Times, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, Stern, Focus, The Times, Daily Mail, Paris Match, Le Monde, and Le Figaro among others. His work has received recognition wining prizes around the world including the Picture of the Year (POYi), PDN Photo Annual, American Photography, International Photography Award (IPA), New York Photography Festival Award, Critical Mass top 50, Black & White Spider Award, and the Picture of the Year Award in the Israeli press.