Tall Socks

In July 1973 Cohen spent a month living in a dorm room at NYU while taking part in a film production workshop. His daily classes were short so he used his free time to walk around the city with his camera. Only a few of the images were printed at the time and the vast majority remained unseen, except as negatives, until now. New York in the 1970s was notorious for high crime rates, social disorder, an unsafe subway and a declining quality of life. Economic stagnation had hit the city hard and many of the middle-class residents had left for the suburbs. This is often evidenced in Cohen’s photographs in the graffiti, litter and ruin present on the streets but his images also depict a New York which is full of life and on the move.