preston in new york city
photographed by ned schenck

more photographs of preston

-- toward a new degeneracy --

"A landscape of flesh interrupted by violent, surreal color filtered through extreme lighting that seems to inexplicably violate the subjects of the photographs. Ned Schenck is one of the most daring and original photographers around, devoting studious amounts of time in the darkroom to photographs that are as perfectly developed as they are shot."
- Travis Jeppesen, author of Victims

Visual artist Ned Schenck has spent the last six years focusing his energies documenting Downtown youth subculture in New York City, taking over 2,500 portraits in the myriad streets and underground clubs of edgy neighborhoods surrounding Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. As an established photographer and magazine publisher, Schenck has exploited a variety of media in an attempt to indulge his obsession with the visual image. Growing up in the deep South and working for several years as an investment banker, Schenck eventually decided to ditch the 'coat and tie' path to explore more creative pursuits. He founded a visual arts publication Pavement Magazine with award-winning art director Adam Roe, and started a photography studio called Pavement Studios. As an extension of his documentary work in photography, Schenck has expanded the domain of Pavement Studios into independent film, resulting in four different motion pictures in production.

photography

Captured through the cracked lenses of an odd assortment of old cameras found on the street or purchased at flea markets (a 1957 Polaroid Land Camera, a 1966 Mamiya C-330, a 1962 Crown Graphic 4x5, and a 1920's Brownie modified with SX-70 Polaroid back), Schenck's collection of photographs are often characterized by long exposures and severe lighting, providing an unsettling and chaotic mood mirroring the atmosphere of the East Village late at night. The resulting images from this series accentuated the beauty, style and recklessness of Downtown youth with portraits including punks, squatters, hustlers, heroin addicts, club kids, queers and emerging artists.

film

Pavement Studios wrapped production on Schenck's first feature film Squatter Teacher Haters, shot during the summer of 2003 -- a movie about three friends who escape to an abandoned lake house after one of them is expelled from high school. Schenck's other current film projects include producing (untitled), a movie written and directed by 19-year-old David Navarrete which chronicles his life experiences as a dazed-and-confused kid growing up in modern suburban hell in an as-yet 'untitled' generation; writing and directing The Pigeon Kickers, a series of short films about degenerate youth on the streets of New York City; and producing Neo-Mania, a teenage vampire road trip film based on the story of Maldoror written in collaboration with writer Travis Jeppesen.

publishing

Schenck's ongoing projects include publishing Pavement Magazine, a visual arts publication providing feature coverage of independent film, music, art, fashion and urban culture; and producing Pavement Magazine's electronic step-child, Pavement Magazine Online. In addition to his work with Pavement Studios, Schenck is also a contributing photographer for Filmmaker Magazine and Lunchbox Studios

meet the artist

"These portraits somehow blur the lines between documentary and fiction. Kids have their own little world that adults are rarely allowed in, and I've been very fortunate to share a moment within their space. My canvas is an urban backdrop; it's a magic playground of reckless Downtown youth -- skaters, punks, club kids, squatters, hustlers, heroin addicts, musicians, queers, artists..."