Danny Lyon on The Destruction of Lower Manhattan

Join Aperture, Museo ICO, and PHotoESPAÑA for a conversation with photographer Danny Lyon about his pioneering work The Destruction of Lower Manhattan – the project, its context, and its relevance to the story of New York City.

First published in 1969, the work is a singular, lasting document of nearly sixty acres of downtown New York architecture before its destruction in a wave of urban development. Through his striking photographs and accompanying texts, Lyon describes the character of a city lost, and paints a portrait of the people who once lived there. Intermingled within the architecture are portraits of individuals and the demolition workers who, despite their assigned task, emerge as the surviving heroes. Fifty years after these photographs were made, they continue to resonate with moral power, serving as a cautionary tale as New York City begins to re-imagine itself once more post-Covid.

In this discussion, Lyon will speak with Gonzalo Doval Sánchez of Museo ICO, and Chris Boot, executive director of Aperture Foundation, about his work and the process of documenting a key moment in New York City’s history.

The Destruction of Lower Manhattan is on view at Museo ICO, Madrid, until January 17, 2021. The new facsimile of The Destruction of Lower Manhattan has been produced and published by Aperture, in partnership with Fundación ICO.

This event is presented by Aperture, Fundación ICO, and PHotoESPAÑA.

Danny Lyon (born in New York, 1942), regarded as one of the most influential documentary photographers, is also a filmmaker and writer. His many books include The Movement (1964), The Bikeriders (1968, reissued by Aperture, 2014), Conversations with the Dead (1971), Knave of Hearts (1999), Like a Thief ’s Dream (2007), and Deep Sea Diver (2011). Lyon’s work is widely exhibited and collected, and he has been awarded Guggenheim Fellowships twice, National Endowment for the Arts grants numerous times, and a 2011 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism.