Uploaded August 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Rafael is raising funds for his photography project through Kickstarter. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by September 18, 2011. To help, see: kickstarter.com/projects/116067966/bushwick-forever-book-project
From Rafael: I started this project in February of 2005, when I moved to Bushwick. As many other artists, I moved to this area, seeking a loft space with high ceilings and a relatively low rent. I started taking pictures of my neighbors and visitors of this area, always carrying a camera with me.
This industrial zone with factory buildings converted to residential lofts and the colorful people who are living here have been fascinating to me. Bushwick was defined by the NY Times in July, 2010 as " the coolest place on the planet." nytimes.com/2010/07/18/realestate/18habi.html
The block where my studio is located is" like a fairy tale" as one of my friends told me, and there is no wonder that it attracts many visitors from all over the world, special graffiti tours, as well as Hollywood movie productions that are using this block as a location ("the Resident" with hillary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, "Our Idiot Brother" with Zooey Deschanell and Paul Rudd, and more.) I accumulated about 150,000 images in the past six years and a half (and still going). This body of work is a personal social documentary that observes and depicts the changes and development of this area from a raw "playground" for artists in the beginning of their career, to an influential cultural and social urban center. The changes come, though, with higher prices that is an unfortunate characteristics of any gentrification.
My work is personal , in a sense that I am not taking a role of an historian who is attempting to cover all aspects, but rather than that I am documenting the soul and spirit of the area, by taking portraits as well as candid shots of the people here during their daily routines, in art openings and different events, at their lofts, as well as the urban terrain, with its , still active, factories and bohemian lofts.
I also created a few web projects dedicated to this neighborhood, as: bushwickyearbook.com or vimeo.com/20396695 but I haven't done a printed book, yet, about this topic.
This area that felt very neighborhoody is changing. During this past six years a lot of new businesses opened here, as restaurants, bars, music venues, and modern co-op buildings are starting to rise. I believe that the images that I have been capturing during the past 6 years are very significant, since the progress of the area is happening rapidly, and it's not the same as it was, already.
With the help of a savvy designer/editor, the colorful coffee table book is going to depict the essence of this area as I witness it. It's about the youth, new beginnings, art, music,fashion,explorations, hope, as well as despair, love, loss of friendships (and unfortunately loss of young lives), but mainly, sheer beauty and pure fun.
I printed a few other books in the past, some in the US, and some over-seas, and the production costs for designing,printing and shipping will surpass, probably, the Kickstarter goal, but will be a tremendous help.
Your help in fulfilling the project is essential and greatly appreciated, and I hope that you will enjoy the rewards that I'm preparing for you, as well as the book itself.
My goal is is to print it in October of 2011, so it will be ready towards the end of the year, for Christams, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa :)...Yeyyy !:)
Please, stay tune for more video episodes (with movies and images) as well as updates.To see a longer version of the video with more incredible footage and images from Bushwick, please go to: vimeo.com/27190909
You'll see there footage that feature: Talib Kweli performance, a sad story about a young woman who lost her life of, assumingly, over-dose, Chabad center in Bushwick, music concerts, more details about the process of editing the images, footage from a Burlesque show, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, more eccentric people that call this place home, and more.
The last episode is, still, unfolding, and it will include current and near future material of events that is, still, about to happen :) Thank you so much for your generous support ! Please, visit my website:rafaelfuchs.com
Rafael is raising funds for his photography project through Kickstarter. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by September 18, 2011. To help, see: kickstarter.com/projects/116067966/bushwick-forever-book-project
From Rafael: I started this project in February of 2005, when I moved to Bushwick. As many other artists, I moved to this area, seeking a loft space with high ceilings and a relatively low rent. I started taking pictures of my neighbors and visitors of this area, always carrying a camera with me.
This industrial zone with factory buildings converted to residential lofts and the colorful people who are living here have been fascinating to me. Bushwick was defined by the NY Times in July, 2010 as " the coolest place on the planet." nytimes.com/2010/07/18/realestate/18habi.html
The block where my studio is located is" like a fairy tale" as one of my friends told me, and there is no wonder that it attracts many visitors from all over the world, special graffiti tours, as well as Hollywood movie productions that are using this block as a location ("the Resident" with hillary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, "Our Idiot Brother" with Zooey Deschanell and Paul Rudd, and more.) I accumulated about 150,000 images in the past six years and a half (and still going). This body of work is a personal social documentary that observes and depicts the changes and development of this area from a raw "playground" for artists in the beginning of their career, to an influential cultural and social urban center. The changes come, though, with higher prices that is an unfortunate characteristics of any gentrification.
My work is personal , in a sense that I am not taking a role of an historian who is attempting to cover all aspects, but rather than that I am documenting the soul and spirit of the area, by taking portraits as well as candid shots of the people here during their daily routines, in art openings and different events, at their lofts, as well as the urban terrain, with its , still active, factories and bohemian lofts.
I also created a few web projects dedicated to this neighborhood, as: bushwickyearbook.com or vimeo.com/20396695 but I haven't done a printed book, yet, about this topic.
This area that felt very neighborhoody is changing. During this past six years a lot of new businesses opened here, as restaurants, bars, music venues, and modern co-op buildings are starting to rise. I believe that the images that I have been capturing during the past 6 years are very significant, since the progress of the area is happening rapidly, and it's not the same as it was, already.
With the help of a savvy designer/editor, the colorful coffee table book is going to depict the essence of this area as I witness it. It's about the youth, new beginnings, art, music,fashion,explorations, hope, as well as despair, love, loss of friendships (and unfortunately loss of young lives), but mainly, sheer beauty and pure fun.
I printed a few other books in the past, some in the US, and some over-seas, and the production costs for designing,printing and shipping will surpass, probably, the Kickstarter goal, but will be a tremendous help.
Your help in fulfilling the project is essential and greatly appreciated, and I hope that you will enjoy the rewards that I'm preparing for you, as well as the book itself.
My goal is is to print it in October of 2011, so it will be ready towards the end of the year, for Christams, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa :)...Yeyyy !:)
Please, stay tune for more video episodes (with movies and images) as well as updates.To see a longer version of the video with more incredible footage and images from Bushwick, please go to: vimeo.com/27190909
You'll see there footage that feature: Talib Kweli performance, a sad story about a young woman who lost her life of, assumingly, over-dose, Chabad center in Bushwick, music concerts, more details about the process of editing the images, footage from a Burlesque show, art galleries, restaurants, cafes, more eccentric people that call this place home, and more.
The last episode is, still, unfolding, and it will include current and near future material of events that is, still, about to happen :) Thank you so much for your generous support ! Please, visit my website:rafaelfuchs.com
