spencer lowell frames views of new york from a 1:1200 architectural scale model
all images courtesy of spencer lowell

 

 

 

undoubtedly one of the highlights at the queens museum is ‘the panorama of the city of new york’ — a vast 9,335 square foot architectural model of all five boroughs built to a scale of 1:1200, where one inch equals 100 feet. the miniature metropolis was conceived by urban mastermind robert moses for the 1964 world’s fair, and was built by a team of more than 100 people over the course of three years. the nearly 900,000 buildings represented are constructed of wood, plastic and hand painted paper, while some 100 bridges are made from etched brass. in this scaled cityscape, the entire borough of manhattan spans 70 x 15 feet; the empire state building measures a mere 15 inches tall; and the statue of liberty less than two inches in height. 

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
a photographic print from the series ‘new york, new york, new york’

 

 

 

in collaboration with frieze art fair, and presented at the 2016 edition in new york, LA-based artist spencer lowell has created a collection of photographic prints of this famed architectural scale model. the series ‘new york, new york, new york’ — the signature images for this year’s frize new york — comprises hyperrealistic images that reflect several iconic areas the city, including central park, midtown, and roosevelt island. shot from overhead perspectives, the prints depict an otherwise unseen aspect of the skyline, emphasized by the abstraction of new york’s extraordinary landscape and the hyper-density of its urban fabric. the limited edition photos are on view and available for purchase at the queens museum booth at frieze new york.

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the original architectural model is built at a scale of 1:1200

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the prints highlight various aspects of the famed architectural scale model

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the project has been completed in collaboration with frieze art fair in new york

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the images reflect several iconic areas the city

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
shot from overhead perspectives, the prints depict rarely seen aspects of the cityscape  

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the hyper-density of new york’s urban fabric is emphasized 

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the series focuses on the abstraction of new york’s extraordinary landscape

spencer lowell frieze new york queens museum
the artist has spotlighted some of the nearly 900,000 buildings represented in the model