Uploaded July 2008 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This tape was shot on E. 23rd St. NYC. The name of the video is "White Collar Funk" It was my first video and overall not so great. However there are moments of street life from that time that redeem it some, here is one excerpt from the end. There is another sample on YouTube called "White Collar Funk 1"
Just saw "In the Street" by Helen Levitt. That film is in a whole other league but if I was able to record 1% of that magic decades later, I'd be happy.
It was a time when the novelty of having a video camera would stir interest and create interaction. Here on 23rd St. bet Park & Lex, uptown side.
Back then I screened a work in progress to a video artist I worked with named Juan Downey. He suggested taking the edit I had and playing it back on the street I made it about to interact with people, which I did. That's the part you see here. I'm not nuts about my manner as an on-the-street reporter but hey, I was fresh out of college. It's called "White Collar Funk" because even though the area was filled with office workers from Met Life etc, it remained gritty and had none of the (then) glamor of midtown office district. Of all the dozens of NYC neighborhoods going upscale now, E. 23rd is still keepin' it real, relatively speaking.
This tape was shot on E. 23rd St. NYC. The name of the video is "White Collar Funk" It was my first video and overall not so great. However there are moments of street life from that time that redeem it some, here is one excerpt from the end. There is another sample on YouTube called "White Collar Funk 1"
Just saw "In the Street" by Helen Levitt. That film is in a whole other league but if I was able to record 1% of that magic decades later, I'd be happy.
It was a time when the novelty of having a video camera would stir interest and create interaction. Here on 23rd St. bet Park & Lex, uptown side.
Back then I screened a work in progress to a video artist I worked with named Juan Downey. He suggested taking the edit I had and playing it back on the street I made it about to interact with people, which I did. That's the part you see here. I'm not nuts about my manner as an on-the-street reporter but hey, I was fresh out of college. It's called "White Collar Funk" because even though the area was filled with office workers from Met Life etc, it remained gritty and had none of the (then) glamor of midtown office district. Of all the dozens of NYC neighborhoods going upscale now, E. 23rd is still keepin' it real, relatively speaking.
