QUOTES FROM REVIEWS

“...The exhibition at Leica Gallery celebrates the publication of Revesz’s new book, NEW YORK (W.W. Norton), a captivating selection of photographs showing New York City from a fresh perspective. This collection of photographs has been described by Cornell Capa as “an intriguing blend of fresh eyes and a Central European wit...that reflects the look and spirit of New York at the turn of century...At first glance [the photographs] look like they are about one thing, when on closer examination it emerges that they are actually about something else altogether. This dichotomy has become Revesz’s trademark.” Peter Shevenell, art director of JCCA, says, that Revesz has “brought a new perspective to the black-and-white New York cityscape and urban scene genre (no small feat considering how many photographers have covered this ground before). Where others have looked at New York and seen only the weighty hand of modernity...or our pathetic attempts to escape through entertainment, revelry, even crime...[he has] found some timeless magic, and perhaps even - yes transcendence...”
Jim Mairs, editor at W.W. Norton, says that “with a photographic eye not unlike of his fellow countryman, André Kertesz, [Revesz] captures the essence of the city in an oblique and often surprising way...The poetry and charm of these images will speak both to New Yorkers and visitors alike.”

– Rose and Jay Deutsch, Directors, Leica Gallery, New York

“...An intriguing blend of fresh eyes and a Central European wit has produced a collection that reflects the look and spirit of New York at the turn of the century...”

– Cornell Capa, Founder Director Emeritus of
International Center of Photography, NY

“...A captivating new collection of photographs showing New York City from a fresh perspective.
In this small book are some of the most beguiling and intriguing photographs of New York City ever taken. Revesz is a prominent Hungarian photographer, recently moved to the United States. With a photographic eye not unlike that of his fellow countryman Andre Kertesz, he captures the essence of the city in an oblique and often surprising way, whether depicting a scene outside the Metropolitan Museum (as seen from the inside) or the towers of the World Trade center, seen almost coincidentally in the background of pictures which are really about something else. The poetry and charm of these images will speak both to New Yorkers and visitors alike.
Tamas Revesz is the award-winning author of ten photo books, including Open Air: The American West and Budapest: A City Before the Millennium...”

– Jim Mairs, Editor and Vice President of W. W. Norton

“...Congratulations on what looks like a very elegant book. I like the cover photo very much. It's clear from these few examples (and from what I know of your work) that you've brought a new perspective to the black-and-white New York cityscape and urban scene genre (no small feat considering how many photographers have covered this ground before). Where others have looked at New York and seen only the weighty hand of modernity (Stieglitz, et al) or our pathetic attempts to escape it through entertainment, revelry, even crime (Weegee, et al), you've found some timeless magic, and perhaps even - yes - transcendence. Well done! and best wishes for great success!...”

– Peter Shevenell , Art Director of JCCA

"...Tamas embodies the spirit of several of his Hungarian predecessors, Brassai, Capa, Kertesz, and Moholy-Nagy, and this spirit and sense of creativity, drive, cosmopolitanism, and warmth, have blessed the world of photography almost since the medium's inception.
Tamas had distinguished himself internationally by both his work and his cosmopolitan spirit. I didn't have any doubt that Tamas Revesz would become one of the outstanding photographers and ambassadors for photography on the world scene.
Since moving to New York, Tamas Revesz has demonstrated an amazing ability not only to adapt to a new culture so different from his native land, but also to use his eye and heart to already produce some of the most important images of New York seen in a long time. His recent book of images of New York is remarkable.
His mixture of sensitivity and infinite curiosity for the human condition makes him one of the most important photographers of "The Family of Man" today. The world of art and photography and the culture and people of his adopted country, the United States, are extremely fortunate to have had this brilliant new "immigrant" arrive among them..."

– Peter Turnley, award-winning photographer

“...New Jersey is where Révész ended up, just across from the glorious Manhattan skyline. It didn't take him long to start photographing the iconic imagery of his new home, the results of which will soon be available in his upcoming book of New York photographs.
It wasn't until he left Hungary that he was awarded the Hungarian Pulitzer Memorial prize for his well-known book of photographs Budapest A city before the Millennium, which juxtaposes images of the now joint cities of Buda and Pest. As Cornell Capa, founder director Emeritus of the International Center of Photography in New York, says, Révész has captured both old and new, rich and poor and eternal and transitory in his Budapest photographs. His New York photographs share a similar style. At first glance they look like they are about one thing, when on closer examination it emerges that they are actually about something else altogether. This dichotomy has become Révész's trademark...

– Diana Ward, Editor of Appelberg/SCA Customer Magazin,
Graphic Paper, Sweden

“...After an incredible, tiring day, I found myself trying to find some breathing room in a favorite haven, the public library. Browsing the stacks, I found your latest book with the photos of New York. Your photos are stunning, I love the Flatiron Building, and your work brought a timeless quality to it. But I have to say, I looked at each page, holding my breath a little with each turn, to steady myself for the inevitable pictures off the World Trade Towers. I must say
that the “Windows on the World” photo spoke more than any words could possible say. But, to arrive at page 119, with the juxtaposition of the Towers over the cemetery was achingly haunting and sadly beautiful.
Some say that “artists are the prophets of our times”. I really appreciated that in looking at your work today. You have truly offered meaning through your work, however unaware you may have been at the time of the future complexity of the work.

– Micah McConnell, Searcy, AR, written on 09/21/01

“Impressions of Israel. “For me they are my impressions of a very special journey… that have opened new horizons in my career as a photographer,” says Tamas Revesz, Pulitzer Prize winning Hungarian photographer, designer and author, including books of photography on New York and Budapest. Considering his accomplishments and stature as an established professional, this is a startling statement about “opening new horizons.” Startling but understandable when you see the twenty-six color photographs of Israel currently on view at the 92nd Street Y. In addition he is showing thirty-one more traditional black and white prints of New York. The question becomes; was it the encounter with Israel that liberated him?
These color prints hover between color photographs and watercolor paintings. Once the individual images are chosen, they are manipulated by computer to emphasize and/or control contour, composition and color saturation. Then they are specially printed on archival watercolor paper. This experimental process produces an image that is no longer tied to the visual reality of ordinary color photographs. To some degree the image becomes more diffuse and abstracted when seen close up and therefore, paradoxically, perceptions and emotions can be heightened and focused from print to print. Using this process Revesz has added another layer of meaning to the photographic image in which the hand of the photographer is more evident in each print.
As the photographer’s manipulation is felt in these prints, the photographs take on a more intimate and crafted feel. The photographer wants to communicate with us not only with what he photographs by also how the print is made.
As a part of a number of photographs of the Dead Sea, one memorable piece is the set of four images called; “Sea Shadow Sequences.” We see the photographer’s shadow, frame by frame, engulfed by an incoming wave at the edge of the sea. Then we become aware that something is strange and out of kilter. We notice that the viewer’s point of view (and hence the photographer) is already in the water. We are not viewing a natural event objectively. We, as viewers, have become immersed in the gentle and persistent rhythm of the waves lapping at the seashore. And seeing the cast shadow slowly flooded, we are aware that we are watching ourselves through the eyes of the photographer.
Another image that takes you by surprise is “Landed” depicting a boat used in the illegal immigration to Israel immediately before independence. It is situated at the shore in Haifa. But now we see it from the beach below, looking up at the prow jutting over the edge of the rocky embankment. This boat is now a museum and of course it can rightly be called, “Landed.” But a more ironic notion, evoked by seeing it from below and so utterly high and dry, is the implicit commentary that Zionism has ‘landed’, established a state and now needs new direction for the state of Israel in its post-Zionist period...
...Nearby, “Western Wall” is a study in contrasts that the photographer is fully involved in. One half of the view of the wall is framed by the bars of a heavy iron gate. The other half, open and accessible, is dominated by the silhouette of a Hasid. The image is strong, composed and ultimately about accessibility, both physical and spiritual, to the wall of holiness. Normally, as ordinary photographs, these prints would have an immediate presence and accessible. But, by using this unique technique, Revesz has made these images into handmade art objects, somewhat more distant and thereby demanding more attention. They force us to look harder and think more about what they may mean...
...Encounters are a subject that Revesz returns to again and again in both sets of photographs. Perhaps the most striking is found in “Remember.” Again we are at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The enormous stones are illuminated with a golden late afternoon light. Surrounding the giant blocks we can see in the crevices thousands of scraps of paper stuffed in the attempt to leave a physical marker of heartfelt requests. And the bottom half of the print is dominated by another cast shadow of a person, an arm raised in petition. The person casting the shadow is close but not immediately at the wall itself. There is distance, in fact, just enough distance to see that the encounter is about to occur between the hard ancient stone and a flesh and blood petitioner. Who is experiencing the encounter in this powerful image? Surely the photographer, but also, as we look at this transformed image, the viewer himself.
This is what, ultimately, the best of these photographs are about. They focus on the ongoing encounter we have with reality and our perceptions of it. And these photographs, especially the impressions of Israel that “opened new horizons” for Tamas Revesz are the ones that can open the doors of our imagination and intellect to creative encounters both in New York and Israel.”

– Richard McBee, Jewish Press Magazine
Encounters. New York and Impressions of Israel.
Photographs by Tamas Revesz at 92nd Street Y at Lexington, New York City.