2007.021

Foster, Robert

Gift

Courtesy of Robert Foster.

2007

Notes: Text from Hoboken Historical Museum Newsletter, July-August 2007 Searching for the Heart of Hoboken: A Photo Essay by John Conn The Museum is pleased to welcome back to the Upper Gallery photographer John Conn, one of the contributors to the recent exhibit of black-and-white photos in “From Another Time: Hoboken in the 1970s.” In the new exhibit, Searching for the Heart of Hoboken: A Photo Essay by John Conn, he revisits one of his favorite neighborhoods, but this time he loaded his camera with 35-mm color slide film. As before, Conn says he’s on the same mission—to find the quintessential heart of Hoboken and pin it down on film. When he first discovered Hoboken 30 years ago, the Bronx-born and -raised photographer/journalist says he felt completely at home. The Bronx can be rough, but it’s a tightly knit community. On his first visit, people had warned him not to venture beyond Hoboken’s railroad station, but it takes a lot to faze this born adventurer, whose career has taken him to South Africa to document the struggle to overthrow Apartheid, to the Galapagos to shoot pictures of exotic animals (some of which were used to promote the Imax film about the Hoboken Tunes… (continued from cover) Galapagos), and to the depths of the ocean for underwater photo safaris. The next trip he’s planning will take him to Antarctica. What draws Conn back to Hoboken is the strong sense of neighborhood that reminds him of his home turf. It’s changed in 30 years, particularly as more of the population works outside of Hoboken than in its industrial heyday. In those days, he says, people used to hang out on their stoops, talking with neighbors; everyone seemed to know everyone else and their civic pride was evident. It was fairly easy to stop someone to pose for a photograph or for pointers on where to find something interesting to shoot. Thirty years later, many people are too busy to stop and talk, which he thinks is a shame, since he finds Hoboken offers so many great places to sit and enjoy a meal and a conversation. Still, he found himself drawn back to Hoboken again and again over the past couple of years, trying to capture glimpses of the city’s elusive essential character. With so many different types of people and interesting buildings packed into its square mile, Hoboken lends itself to great photos, he claims, adding, “If you can’t get a good picture here, you should hang up your lens.” He developed over a dozen of his favorite photos for display, and will have a bin of additional photos from his Hoboken safaris for visitors to flip through. And he’s not finished, saying, “There’s always a better photo out there.” Spoken like an adventurer. The opening reception is Sunday, July 29, from 2–5 p.m. Original or Copy: Digital copy Status: OK Status By: dw Status Date: 2007-09-21