Barbara Crane: Chicago Loop

Hemmed in on three sides by the "El" and on the fourth by Lake Michigan, Chicago's downtown core is a vital conglomeration of architectural histories, from the birth of the skyscraper through to the perfection of International Style and onward toward postmodern eclecticism. The Loop, as the area is known, has long fascinated photographers, and Barbara Crane is no exception. Between 1976 and 1978, she wheeled a bright-red leather golf bag around the neighborhood. The bag contained a 5-by-7 view camera, which she used to expose more than 500 negatives. Later edited down to a finished series of 90 pictures, and published here as a selection of 40, Crane's images capture the interstitial urban spaces that exist in between every building block of the Loop's circumscribed grid.