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If Bill Shakespeare is to be believed, eyes are the windows to the soul. Designed to look outwards, looking into them reveals a person’s deepest emotions.
The same might be said of windows. Built to provide light, and scenic views for the occupants of a building; they also allow us to look in, catching a glimpse of the private world inside. What’s more, windows themselves adopt the spirit of the building they adorn; they bear its architectural foibles; they share its state of repair; they echo the size of its spaces.
If windows characterize a building’s soul, then surely some of the most fascinating windows in the world are to be found in New York city. That at least, seems to be the opinion of graphic designer José Guízar, a New York-based graphic designer who is working on a weekly series of beautifully illustrated portraits of New York windows.
In his own distinctive style, Guízar has illustrated over a dozen windows from the Big Apple — one dreads to think how many he has left if he plans to illustrate them all. In a muted 50s palette, reminiscent of the mad men era, his lovingly executed pieces brilliantly evoke the character of the greatest city on earth.
Little is made of the interior of the buildings – other than the odd venetian blind, or wilting plant – keeping the focus of the building’s architectural character, rather than the person who occupies it. As an exercise in reduction, it’s an amazing project.
94 Bank St, West Village
962 Lexington Ave, Upper East Side
113 Thompson St, Soho
617 9th Ave, Hell’s Kitchen
186 Sullivan St, West Village
540 12th St, West Village
199 E 4th St, East Village
461 West 47th St, Clinton
219 East 4th St, East Village
448 West Broadway, Soho
290 Lafayette St, Nolita
162 Stanton St, Lower East Side
675 9th Ave, Hell’s Kitchen
430 Broome St, Nolita
What other cities deserve to be immortalized? What other parts of buildings are suitable for illustration? Let us know in the comments.
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