I sat for decades at morning breakfast tea looking out my kitchen window, one day recognized my own world the familiar backyard, a giant wet brick-walled undersea Atlantis garden, waving ailanthus (“stinkweed”) “Trees of Heaven,” with chimney pots along Avenue A topped by Stuyvesant Town apartments’ upper floors two blocks distant on 14th Street, I focus’d on the raindrops along the clothesline. “Things are symbols of themselves,” said Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. New York City August 18, 1984

1984

Allen Ginsberg

Associated Names
Allen Ginsberg

Artist, American, 1926 - 1997

The image is a black and white photograph taken from an indoor perspective, looking out through a window onto a scene of urban backyards. The view shows a series of buildings with a brick facade on the left side, showcasing a window with clothes hanging out to dry. Beyond, there are more buildings creating a layered backdrop of urban architecture, with some windows appearing open or slightly ajar. The horizon is obscured by the buildings, but there are taller structures in the distance. The middle plane of the image reveals a tangled array of plants, possibly overgrown ferns. The atmosphere is monochromatic, emphasizing the textural details of the brick and foliage, as well as the aged, weathered look of the buildings. The composition conveys a quiet urban scene dominated by neutral tones, creating a sense of depth and layering.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gary S. Davis

  • Dimensions

    image: 42 x 28 cm (16 9/16 x 11 in.)
    sheet: 50.5 x 40.5 cm (19 7/8 x 15 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2009.103.17

  • Copyright

    Copyright (c) 2010 The Allen Ginsberg LLC. All rights reserved.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Allen Ginsberg Estate; Ellen and Gary Davis, Greenwich, CT (through Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York); gift to NGA, 2009.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2010

  • Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg, National Gallery of Art, Washington; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Grey Art Gallery & Study Center, New York University, New York; The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, 2010 - 2013, no. 101.

Inscriptions

signed by artist, lower right on sheet in black ink: Allen Ginsberg; artist inscription, across bottom under image: I sat for decades at morning breakfast tea looking out my kitchen window, one day recognized my own world the familiar background, a giant wet brick-walled undersea Atlantis garden, waving ailanthus ("stinkweed") "Trees of Heaven," with chimney pots along Avenue A topped by Stuyvesant Town apartments' upper floors two blocks distant on 14th street, I focus'd on the raindrops along the clothesline. "Things are symbols of themselves," said Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. New York City August 18, 1984; on verso, by unknown hand, across lower center in graphite: GD-AG-92; across lower right: GDC-853

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