The Museum of the City of New York has a terrific new exhibition opening this weekend that will bring you back to Coney Island in the early 1960s. The show features Aaron Rose's photographs of the area from 1961 to 1963, and is the first exhibition of the esteemed photographer’s images from the famous beach.
The MCNY notes, "The diversity of people—and what they are doing—is immediately arresting, as the photographs capture intimate portraits of regular and uninhibited New Yorkers in a world of their own... [and] represents an utterly different perspective on New Yorkers’ lives, made up entirely of photographs of beach-goers, escaping what were, in all likelihood, un-air-conditioned apartments for a few hours of sand and waves."
There will be around 70 unseen photographs, with one section "showcasing individuals and couples and another section that features the crowded beach and onlookers on the Coney Island boardwalk." Photography critic Vince Aletti has said the photos show “a place where privacy is a state of mind.” Which every New Yorker can relate to.
"In A World of Their Own" will open on Friday, May 9th and remain on view until Sunday, August 3rd.
