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Arts & Entertainment

"Valentino's Children:" A Little Plot of History at 0.00156 Acres

Carroll Gardens residents inspire a photo essay

Photographer Kurt Dietrich Wilberding doesn't have to look far for inspiration. In fact, the idea for his latest project came to him on the street – literally – in the form of "Milly," a tiny Carroll Garden's resident, "historian" and local legend.

Wearing a black hat, globs of mascara and an unmistakable air of pride, "Milly," a 95-year old dressmaker from Calabria, is framed, posed and hanging on the wall of the 0.00156 Acres gallery on Smith Street, looking left to a row of portraits of elderly gentlemen lined up next to her.

Some of the captions below these portraits read like summaries to scandalous works of fiction. There are Ponzi Schemes and evil in-laws, there is crime and prostitution. There's a 106-year-old restaurant, World War II stories and a Vietnam Vet with a love of cigars.

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Milly's own past is no less fascinating than a cleverly crafted tale. But this isn't fiction; it is a living, breathing testament to New York's fascinating history, told through a series of portraits recorded onto medium format Kodak film by Wilberding.

Using a twin reflex camera from the 1960's, the Brooklyn-based photographer has embarked on a photojournalistic adventure – , a photo essay inspired by "Milly" and focused on Carroll Gardens' Italian-American community, a demographic that once dominated the area and a rich piece of history, now rapidly shrinking in an endlessly changing New York City.

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This past Saturday afternoon, Wilberding stopped by the gallery. He discussed the project, the exhibit and photographic techniques with 0.00156 Acres curator and founder Veronica Mijelshon and some visitors.

Someone remarked on a subject's razor sharp look that cuts right through the photograph to the viewer; a look that is offset by a melancholy expression and softened by the subject's jowls, but rendered no less intense.

Wilberding has been shooting for this past year and is constantly involved in negotiations and scheduling with his subjects. He talked about the project, describing it as a constant learning process – technically, historically and artistically.

"There was this sort of 'Little Italy' by Columbia Street," he said, adding that through his research, he got a crash course in history. He learned about the decades-long sewer project, the BQE that was built in the 60s and cut the neighborhood in half and how both have contributed to gentrification and the splintering of a once vibrant community.

"Their Little Italy was kind of dismantled," he said.

"There was this beautiful old clock that used to be there, on the corner of Union and Columbia," he said, describing efforts by some of his photo subjects to restore historic landmarks. "Frank Manzione is trying to raise money to bring it back."

Wilberding used a vintage twin reflex camera to capture his subjects. The way he describes it, with a twin reflex, there are two lenses, stacked vertically, and "you look through one lens, while the other actually takes the light in." This provides an extraordinary challenge, especially when using extremely low depth-of-field such as is used in the portraits. The technique keeps specific elements in sharp focus, while throwing everything else into a soft, fuzzy blur.

According to Mijelshon, the exhibit, which is on display through January 23, has gotten a tremendous response from the public.

"They recognize some of the people in the pictures," she said. "It's an exciting thing, and they appreciate the work." 

That is definitely true for video artist Mark Topal, 52.

"My father had an office on Court Street for over sixty years, and while walking the streets over the years, I feel that at one time or another, I passed every one of the people in the photos," he said. "Each image evokes the subject's powerful personal story, and connection to their rich family and neighborhood, which they love so much. I felt transported back in time to the heart of Brooklyn, evoking feelings of loyalty, family, love, sadness, God, trust, pain."

He continued, "Stick ball, over-development, work, war."

I guess you can tell I really loved it," he said.

Valentino's Children is sponsored in part by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. After being awarded the grant, Wilberding realized how important Milly was.

"I would see her again and again and initially I thought, it would be great to photograph her on the street," he recalled. "But then the idea for the grant came up, and that's when I thought of Milly not so much as the elderly woman in the neighborhood, but as a historian.

"Like, wow, she has seen this neighborhood from childhood to now. She's seen the Great Depression, she's seen World War II," he said. "This is someone who can tell me about how New York has changed."

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