While the title of the photography exhibition
is a nod to singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, "All This
Useless Beauty: Photographs by Larry Racioppo" – on display
now in the Central Library’s Grand Lobby at Grand Army Plaza
– is an ode to neglected entertainment venues (and churches)
in Brooklyn.
Among the more than 30 large color prints on display is Racioppo’s
"Entrance, Coney Island Spookhouse," pictured.
"Once-grand churches, movie theaters and amusements now
stand forlorn, their beauty compromised by the ravages of time
and the elements," says Racioppo, a Park Slope native. "Many
have outlived their usefulness and await demolition as the city
reinvents itself. Some are economically viable and have been
transformed into bingo parlors and car repair shops, while others
teeter on the edge of extinction. What connects them is their
inexorable beauty."
"All this Useless Beauty" will be on display through
Nov. 18. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more
information, visit the Web site at www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org.
