Arlene Gottfried

Sometimes overwhelming

Before gentrification, New York City was a gritty and inspiring place. And in its midst was Arlene Gottfried, whose eye for the sublime caught it all.
Sometimes Overwhelming is a manic yet romantic ode to the people of New York City in the 1970s and 80s. From Coney Island to a Hasid at Riis Beach’s nude bay to the disco nights of sexual abandon and the children in the original Village Halloween parade, Sometimes Overwhelming is a delightfully lighthearted look at the most outrageous people you might ever see.

“Arlene Gottfried is a photographer with an eye and a mind on the city streets—an ‘insider’ with an ability to capture images of life that are raw, real, hard-edged, and caustic, and at the same time affectionate, funny, and loving.”

—Ann Marie Rousseau, Photo Review