TBW Books to Publish Gerald Cyrus's 'Uptown Odyssey,' a Decade of Harlem Photographs
This month, TBW Books is set to release "Uptown Odyssey," a photographic anthology by Gerald Cyrus, showcasing his work from the 1990s. The collection highlights the dynamic essence of Black life through images of Harlem's street corners, subway rides, jazz venues, and nightlife. Cyrus, who was a thirty-three-year-old M.F.A. student at the time, started capturing the essence of New York City in 1990. His photographs, spanning from 1990 to 1997, feature moments such as two girls playing near a fire hydrant in 1994 and five men posing by a neon "Lounge" sign in 1997. After being largely ignored by major publishers, TBW has now acknowledged his talent. This marks Cyrus's first monograph, following his 2008 self-published work, "Stormy Monday."
Key facts
- TBW Books will publish Gerald Cyrus's 'Uptown Odyssey' this month.
- The book collects photographs Cyrus took in New York City during the 1990s.
- Cyrus began consistently documenting New York City in 1990 as a thirty-three-year-old M.F.A. student at the School of Visual Arts.
- The images include Harlem street corners, subways, jazz clubs, and night scenes.
- Specific photographs mentioned: two girls by a fire hydrant (1994), a figure in white near a train station (1991), five men in front of a 'Lounge' neon sign (1997).
- Cyrus moved to Philadelphia in 2000, where his archive and darkroom are located.
- His darkroom wall features postcards and flyers from Beuford Smith, Josef Koudelka, Wayne Levin, Renée Cox, Henry Taylor, Romare Bearden, and Roy DeCarava.
- Cyrus self-published 'Stormy Monday' in 2008; 'Uptown Odyssey' is his first publisher-produced monograph.
- The author discovered Cyrus's work in 2024 via 'Harlem Nights 1990-2001' at the Photographers' Gallery bookshop in London.
Entities
Artists
- Gerald Cyrus
- Beuford Smith
- Josef Koudelka
- Wayne Levin
- Renée Cox
- Henry Taylor
- Romare Bearden
- Roy DeCarava
- Whitney Houston
- Christina Sharpe
Institutions
- TBW Books
- School of Visual Arts
- Photographers' Gallery
- MOMA
- Whitney Museum of American Art
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Harlem
- Philadelphia
- London
- United Kingdom
- South Africa
- Baton Rouge