Lars Tunbjörk: 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, from the Times Square portfolio published May 18, 1997

Acclaimed Swedish photographer Lars Tunbjörk brings the clarity of foreign eyes to the once-gritty corner of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York, discovering its Hopper-esque morning stillness and its abstract shapes.

Aperture Foundation is pleased to release this limited-edition photograph, as featured in The New York Times Magazine Photographs (Aperture, 2011). This image originally appeared in the Times on May 18, 1997, in a portfolio focusing on Times Square. The editor, Kathy Ryan, assembled a roster of photographers, each of whom would bring a very different eye and sensibility to the story. Tunbjörk reflects on his image: “Forty-second Street at the time was a strange place, with all the abandoned cinemas and porno palaces—like a big empty theater set. I took this picture on a sunny Sunday. I love sunny Sundays in New York; the air is clean, and the light is so crisp and hard. I thought of the paintings of Piet Mondrian when I saw these buildings and the strong colors.”

Each limited-edition print is hand-packed with great care and ships from New York within 3–5 days.