Presenting an informal archive of black and white photographs alongside cell phone pictures from Social Photography VI, the exhibition Archive / New York, 1950-1970, offers visual connections between images of everyday life from 20th century New York City and the moment-to-moment recording of 21st century experience via the cell phone camera.

Drawn largely from lifestyle reportage of unknown and lesser-known photographers, this companion show demonstrates parallels and historical links to much of today’s cell phone photography, which, through an emphasis on sensibility, humor, and candid shots of the overlooked, reveal a latent presence of the photojournalist’s urge to articulate and document everyday life.

While large media networks continue to rely on sensation and alarm to catch and maintain the interest of their audience, this group of roughly one-hundred images, when seen in the context of cell phone pictures of contemporary life, suggests an ongoing interest in the nuances of "the everyday".

As mass media transitions from the managing of beliefs through editorial fiat to social media’s unwieldy platforms, which frame perception via the perpetual fine tuning of algorithms, Archive / New York presents visual evidence of the longstanding appeal in making visible what often remains hidden in plain sight.

Photo: Claude Jacoby, circa 1960