Ethan James Green: Young New York

Young New York, Ethan James Green’s first monograph, presents a selection of striking portraits of New York’s millennial scene-makers, a gloriously diverse cast of models, artists, nightlife icons, queer youth, and gender binary–flouting muses of the fashion world and beyond. Under the mentorship of the late David Armstrong, Green developed a sensitive and confident style and an intense connection with his subjects; his luminous black-and- white portraits, many taken in Corlears Hook Park on the Lower East Side, bring to mind Diane Arbus’s midcentury studies of gender nonconformists. Although he often shoots on commission for fashion brands and magazines, for Young New York, Green photographed his close friends and community for more than three years, and his humanist approach transcends the trends of the moment. Young New York promises to announce a bright young talent who is redefining beauty and identity for a new generation. In the words of the model and actress Hari Nef, one of Green’s frequent subjects, “In Ethan’s world, the kids who inspire him ought to be (and are) the subjects of his work. Ethan is an artist among so-called image makers.”

"This book is about celebrating people for who they are, allowing them to be seen as they want to be seen." —Wall Street Journal "Ethan James Green approaches his nonconforming group of friends as the type of participant-observer that makes for the most emotionally affecting photography in Young New York." —Vanity Fair "The photographs, when gathered together, provide a portrait of a fledgling youth culture united in its defiance of the boundaries of race, sexuality and gender – a focus which has seen his work deemed reminiscent, in style and subject, of Diane Arbus." —Another Man

Ethan James Green (born in Caledonia, Michigan, 1990) moved to New York as a teenager to work as a model. He has been commissioned by publications such as Another Man, Dazed & Confused, Re-Edition, Love Magazine, i-D, Arena Homme +, Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, W, and labels including Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu, and Prada. His work from Young New York was featured in and on the cover of Aperture’s Winter 2017 issue, Future Gender. Hari Nef (foreword) is an actress, model, and writer based in Los Angeles. Michael Schulman (essay) is an arts editor and regular contributor to the New Yorker, and the author of Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep (2016).