News

In this photograph, taken in the New York subway, a reader, immersed in his book, seems—without even realizing it—to embody a déjà vu. It is not merely the scene that repeats itself before our eyes, but the very idea of déjà vu that we relive through this image: the same moment, twice; the same perception, doubled—without any manipulation. The illusion of suspended time, where past and present blur together, is captured in this instant of intense concentration, as time itself seems to pause for the reader, absorbed in his reading.

In 1896, architect John T. Williams designed this building with a Italianate style of architecture, characterized by its baroque pilasters, for the « Banco di Sicilia ». It was built during the Italian migration flow in New York (Little Italy) that started in the 1880s as a result of the Italian health crisis. America photographer Benerice Abbott, assistant to Man Ray in Paris, returns to New York in 1929 and discovers a new city. « Changing New York » is a project that, in 1939, will culminate in the « Museum of the city of New York ». The « Banco di Sicilia » can be found in the photo « Broadway near Broome Street ». The still equally imposing building in downtown Broadway has left an architectural, artistic and historical mark on New York City.