In the summer of 2005 I studied the variety of ad hoc doorbell buzzers found in my Brooklyn neighborhood, a byproduct of the do-it-yourself spirit which drew many to an urban-loft utopian model of living. I also see them as a symbol of the rising tide of gentrification that often brings artists and makers as the first wave.
I originally set out to photograph only a few favorites, but soon discovered that many were replaced by modern intercoms connected to renovated luxury lofts above. I am fascinated with the temporal nature of these images. The 8x10 negative captures a palimpsest of lives lived, complete with the names, apartment numbers, and buzzers of past tenants visible despite the toll of the elements on the layers of tape, glue, aluminum foil, and frayed wires.
