The T Line

This catalogue is an archive of The T Line, a photography exhibition that occurred on June 1, 2013 during the 2nd Avenue Fair. The T Line portrays the construction of the 86th , 96th and 103rd Street stations along the 2nd Ave Subway Line and the people, space and places in between. Maria Arias, Brianna Leandre, Ivette Maduro, Fatima Ndiaye, Jeremiah Torres and Camille Weston, six high school students enrolled in Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center’s On-Track Program, made the images included in The T Line. In May 2013, Maria, Brianna, Ivette, Fati-ma, Jeremiah and Camille participated in a five -session, Photography and Digital Imaging workshop facilitated by CAW, sponsored by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and hosted Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center. During the workshop students learned basic 2-D visual art composition skills and received Photoshop instruction. They also drafted and revised their biographies and statements, photo-graphed and enhanced the images on display in the upcoming pages.

Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, PresidentNancy Ploeger

Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, Executive DirectorBrian Ricklin

Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, Program DirectorAnthony Gonzalez

The T Line Curator & Photography Workshop Teaching ArtistLafotographeuse (née Amanda Adams-Louis)

Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center, On-Track Program Coordinator: Jose Figueroa

The T Line PhotographersMaria Arias, Brianna Leandre, Ivette Maduro, Fatima Ndiaye,

Jeremiah Torres , Camille Weston

BIOGRAPHY: My name is Brianna Leandre and I am fifteen years old. I attend Park East High school as a sophomore. I was born on July 2nd at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. My favorite things to do are sing and play the piano. My hobbies consist of drawing clothes for manne-quins and make fashion blogs on Tumblr. I have been playing the piano since the age of two. This photo series meant a lot to me and I hope it interests you.

The Struggle and Benefit of 2nd Avenue Construction

Brianna Leandre

ARTIST STATEMENT: My photo series was based on how the construc-tion on 2nd Avenue affects businesses and homes. The sight of the blocks on 2nd Avenue was horrendous. Construction signs were ev-erywhere and barriers were blocking almost every store on the avenue. The people looked aggravated and an-noyed with the way things were working and the nar-row streets they had to walk on. Managers of restaurants had sad faces when I went in to ask questions on how they felt. People complained about dust in their homes and bad coughs. Everyday peo-ple have to be concerned with their neighborhood not being safe. 2nd Avenue’s construc-tion isn’t overall a negative factor going on. The con-struction of a new train line can help businesses grow be-cause people will have bet-ter access to diners, clothing stores, restaurants, etc. This will also help the businesses that have to close down, start over. This will also create bet-ter and faster ways of getting to and from Manhattan.

One of my strongest photos is one of an elderly woman. She is having problems with a horrible cough and dust in her house. She says she thinks the air is toxic and is affecting her lungs. Right after telling me these negative things she looked on the bright side and said, “Maybe the F train will make a differ-ence in the businesses on 2nd Avenue”. My second strongest photo I have is of a bar/restaurant called “Midnight Blue”. The manager was glad to speak with me about his concerns. He said due to the construction blocking off his business, he has to close down. He states he has only been in business for two years. He says, “I can’t beat them”. But he too also looked on the brighter side and said, “I can always open my business somewhere else on 2nd Avenue. Maybe my business will be

even better than it was.”

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Camille Weston

BIOGRAPHYMy name is Camille Weston. I am fourteen years old. I go to Park East High School. I am Haitian and Italian. I live with my aunt and uncle and I am proud of it. I am very much into creative activi-ties such as acting, drawing, writing, singing, photogra-phy and anything that helps to explain your true emo-tions and feelings, without feeling uncomfortable to

do it.

ARTIST STATEMENT I joined photography because I had never done something like it before. I was excited to learn about the different ways to view an image and capture it in a way that expresses you. My col-lection of pictures was based on the business on Second Avenue, particularly the fashion part. I have always had an eye out for colorful things that express the person you are. The nail painting store really sparked something in me that I had never paid much attention to before. I found my-self drawn to the creativity and determination in the eyes of the employees. This very much in-

spired me.

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Chanté Morris

BIOGRAPHYMy name is Chanté Morris. I am fourteen years old and I go to Park East High School. I live with my mom and older sister. I love to write, read books, listen to mu-sic, and watch television. I like to express myself through cloth-ing and writing, without having

anyone tell me I’m wrong.

ARTIST STATEMENTI joined photography because I like taking pictures. I wanted to learn how to express emotions and show what is happening in the same way professionals do. The pictures taken were based of the business on Sec-ond Ave. Especially the stores that people go into to express them-selves. I went to the nail salon and took a picture of a lady getting her nails done. She made that choice because she wanted to look nice. I took a picture of the shelves with nail polish because the colors people chose represents them. It represents how they feel. The manicurist had a determination in her eyes because she knows she has to perfect this and give the lady what she wants. I took a picture of the street sign in black and white which

really inspired me. It was inspirational because people walk past that sign everyday and soon they will be able to ride

past it on a train instead of walking.

The Subway Project

Fatima Ndiaye

BIOGRAPHYMy name is Fatima Ndiaye. I am 16 years old. I attend Life Sciences Secondary School. I enjoy danc-ing, writing poetry and creating art. I am a part of a family that believes in creative self-expres-sion. Last year I attended On Track program as a 9th grader where I was guided to focus on my cre-ative side while still focusing on my school work preparing for Regents. This year I’m a mentor in On Track helping new 9th graders attending

Park East High School.

ARTIST STATEMENTThis photo series shows the hard work that the construction workers have put into their jobs. In the past couple of weeks of taking pictures I focused on capturing the workers in their workspace. I made some of my photographs in black and white to show the contrast between the hard labor

while working and as everyday life goes on, at the same time.

As I looked more into the history of the Second Avenue subway construction I found out that this was a project that started in 1929. Due to many distractions and lack of funding the second

avenue subway project fell through but was reestablished in 2007.

City Shapes

Ivette Maduro

BIOGRAPHY My name is Ivette Maduro. I’m 14 years old and I love to draw/sketch and paint. I also love to read (a lot) and I go to the library every Saturday. I’m an Ameri-can of Dominican descent (American because I was born in the United States.) I speak flu-ently in English and Spanish. I rarely spoke when I was young-er and when I did only Spanish came out. My mom wanted me to speak more and in English so she sent me to a school to learn it. Now I sometimes think when I’m speaking in Spanish I’m pro-nouncing some of those words

wrong.

ARTIST STATEMENTThese images are about the 2nd Avenue Subway Construction. My photo series about this construction is on Geometrical Features. When I was younger my 5th grade teacher told me that math was everywhere, in road signs, artwork, and images. So I thought of Geometrical Fea-tures, art through this construction, and the buildings. Even though this construction has brought many problems like traffic, stores closing down, and personal problems like harder to breathe/coughing a lot, I wanted to focus on the beauty of it. Not that it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but if you look closer at this construction site you

see shapes. CITY SHAPES!!!

New York’s Instruments

Jeremiah Torres

BIOGRAPHYI am Jeremiah Torres. I live in East Harlem. I am of Puerto Rican and American descent. I am a student at Park East High School and live with my mom, baby brother and my younger sister. My life has got me interested in photographing.

ARTIST STATEMENTI love to look at different pieces of technology. My favorite was always construction ve-hicles and tools used to construct a building. I believe that our loudest instruments are tools and trucks used in construction. Hammers, trucks, the towering cranes and the beeps that go off in the neighborhoods. My favorite type of machinery is the bulldozer. It is strong, reli-ant and very easy to see how one works. As a kid I used to play with building blocks and I get to be very creative of what I make. I would act as different kinds of tools and knock

down the blocks.

New York At Its Worst!!!

Mariaelena Arias

BIOGRAPHYMy name is Mariaelena Arias. I am 14 years old. I am from Do-minican Republic. Also I am a student from Park East High School. I live with my mother and Little sister and big brother. During some classes that I gone to for photography I’ve gotten interested in being a photog-rapher one day, maybe some-

time around the future.

ARTIST STATEMENT There are many reasons why New York, may be at its “worst.” As you can see the photographs that I’ve taken is all about Traffic! It has many affects for all the people around the area. The reason of this traffic jam is all because of, Subway Construction going on. It often gets really crowded during the process which where people are crossing the streets. Also because of con-struction, many restaurants may be even closing down! Traffic is very dif-ficult to go by especially annoying

when trying to cross.

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