October 6, 2008 

Photos by City Tech Professor
Carole K. Harris
October 8 – November 8
Ursula C. Schwerin Library
New York City College of Technology
300 Jay Street (at Tillary)

    The Ursula C. Schwerin Library at New York City College of Technology will host an exhibit of the photography of English Professor Carole K. Harris from October 8 through November 8, 2008, in the library showcase windows on the fourth floor of the Atrium Building in Downtown Brooklyn. The show is on view Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.
    A resident of Park Slope, Brooklyn, Harris has been taking photographs since her grandfather gave her an old Brownie camera as a teenager. She is drawn to dilapidated landscapes empty of people and to distracted people “hanging out” in places of transition like train stations, bus stations and airports. She is intrigued by those who themselves are biding time in states of transition – teenagers, the elderly, children.
    “I love observing how teenagers physically lean into their parents while waiting in line, and how the young fearlessly, flirtatiously or dreamily meet or ignore the eye of the camera,” she says.
    The exhibit features three photographic themes: Children Gazing, Hanging Out, and Passing Worlds.
    “There are many ways to ‘hang out’ with friends in public,” says Harris, “and in each case the presence of the photographer reveals something about the relationship of the friends to each other. Their display of intimacy, slightly intruded upon, seems to be impacted by gender – the photographer’s and their own.”
    Harris, who began teaching literature and writing at City Tech in 2006, holds a BA in French from Duke University and an MA and PhD in Comparative Literature from Yale University. She specializes in 19th- and 20th-century French and American fiction, and is currently writing a book on the topic of clichés in the work of Flannery O’Connor.
    Located in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York is the largest public college of technology in New York State. The College enrolls more than 14,000 students in 60 baccalaureate, associate and specialized certificate programs.
    For more information, contact Library Professor Morris Hounion at 718 260 5491 or mhounion@citytech.cuny.edu.

From the top: Chistopher; middle: Girls on Bench; above: Photographer Carole Harris