Jeff Chien Hsing Liao -
42nd Street, Time Square, Manhattan
American, born in Taiwan, b.1977
42nd Street, Times Square, Manhattan, 2005
Pigment ink print, 20 x 48 inches
Edition of 12
08.012
Gift of Nicki and J. Ira Harris (BBA '59)
Born in Taiwan, and later located in New York, Liao has always been interested in how people are nurtured by their surroundings. He often concentrates on cultural differences as well as nurturing activities. He earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and a BFA from Pratt Institute. He won first prize in the New York Times “Capture the Times” photo contest in 2005. Liao’s work has been featured in several solo and group exhibitions, and is owned by private and public collections, including JGS Inc. Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Queens Museum of Art, Deutsche Bank, Norton Museum and Kodak Eastman House.
Habitat 7 is a series of large scale color panoramic photographs which focuses on the ethnic communities that have grown up around the IRT 7 train in Queens. Liao's compelling panoramic images are shot with a large format camera and are full of minute detail. They are composed of multiple exposures made at the same location and taken over the course of several hours. The result is a project that transcends documentary and reveals to us the deliberation, and intensely personal journey undertaken by the artist. Habitat 7, Liao's MFA thesis project for the School of Visual Arts, was the winner of the 2005 New York Times Magazine Capture the Times photography contest.
