Tale of Two Cities
By: Ilene Dube , TimeOFF, The Princeton Packet 07/02/2003

Romantic visions of Paris and New York are woven together 
in photocollages on view at the Brodsky Gallery.
    The U.S. dollar won't take you very far in France this summer, but a Parisian experience is just a car drive away. The Brodsky Gallery at Educational Testing Service in Lawrence is featuring Emily Townsend's Paris and New York Photocollages through July 23.
   Ms. Townsend takes bits and pieces of the things she likes — old photographs, maps, postcards and historical ephemera (ticket stubs, menus and cartons du pub, or graphic illustrations) — and puts them together using Adobe Photoshop. Trained in painting and architecture, the West Windsor resident taught herself Photoshop so she could teach it to others. She also is an accomplished photographer, and her own images of New York and Paris street scenes personalize the collages.
   "I'm interested in combining images to convey a feeling or sense of place," says the Washington, D.C., native who traveled to Paris three times in the past 18 months for the project. "Parisians' great respect for history and archival materials makes it easy to find postcards and photographs at the bouquinistes along the Seine... Juxtaposing these elements with my own photographs helps capture the fleeting moments in the life of this city," she writes in her artist's statement.
   If Ms. Townsend's images remind you of chocolate, that's because there are subliminal messages about the elixir hiding within images — a sign for a chocolate shop, two children cut out from a chocolate package. Francophiles will love the Eiffel Tower, the bistros, the cobblestone streets, the Hector Guimard art nouveau Metro entrances and, of course, the fromage. New Yorkophiles will revel in images of Central Park and the surrounding skyscrapers, Times Square and big yellow taxis, billboards, the subway and sewer caps. A ghostly reflection of the Twin Towers will resonate for everyone.
"Show Reflections, Times Square," photocollage by Emily Townsend.
"Old and New," photocollage by Emily Townsend. Above, "Show Reflections, Times Square."
At left, "Old and New."
   Ms. Townsend moved to New Jersey from Maryland three years ago and started teaching Photoshop in the continuing-education program at Mercer County Community College. "I had used Photoshop as a tool up to that point, but then I had an epiphany that it could be a medium, as well," she says.
   The show is divided into Paris and New York sections, although there is overlap within images. For example, a reflection of Times Square is in the rear window of a Volkswagen in Paris, and a French balcony can be seen in the upper right corner ("Show Reflections, Times Square").
   "I consider Paris to have a more feminine beauty, whereas New York is more masculine. It is harder, with less green space; it's more about concrete and buildings and cars and signage. New York is more overwhelming than Paris," says Ms. Townsend, who spent a greater amount of time in Paris than New York.
   "The streets of New York are so congested, yet shopping is so luxurious," she says. "I wanted to capture that. My street scenes are gritty with hints of luxury."
   There are references to turn-of-the-century immigrants and New York as the promised land. Ms. Townsend's own grandmother emigrated from Eastern Europe in 1911, and the artist wanted to contrast the dreams of fine things with the reality of the city — riding the subway, for instance.
   "Dreams, Just Dreams" shows modern-day tourists looking up at the skyscrapers of Times Square, with the ghosts of people from an era gone by in the distance and postage stamps with the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center. Ms. Townsend says she wants to show how the actual image is not always as glamorous as the dream.
   Another collage, "Wow," includes a sign: "Sublime Entertainment." "New York is enticing visitors to come on in," says Ms. Townsend.
   Perhaps Anais Nin says it best: "Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country." Ms. Townsend has the French author's words inscribed on this collage.
   Having studied design — she has bachelor's degrees in both art and architecture, and a master's degree in architecture, all from the University of Maryland, and during her junior year she studied painting and stained glass at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Aix-en Provence, France — placement of the objects in the collage comes naturally. Ms. Townsend likes being able to play around with the composition using Photoshop, as well as using filters to manipulate the images.
"Metro Musique," a photocollage by Emily Townsend.
"Metro Musique," above.
   As busy as her photocollages are, her paintings, by contrast, are serene images of nature — water, flowers, a "Consciousness Landscape." The mother of three works from a studio in her basement, where she has a library of reference books for her collages. "My painting has never been about travel or place but what's inside me," she says. "My method has always been to let the work evolve — (the collages) are more directed. They start with more concrete data."
   Ms. Townsend paints with a group, jFour. The women work together simultaneously on a single canvas. "We have a lot of synergy and we merge our styles," she says. "Sometimes there's heated discussion, but other times there is this flow. It's different from what we'd make individually, but we merge into one. We have to overcome our cultural differences, but we're open and manage."
   The four women met through the Newcomers Club of the YWCA Princeton and bonded when they learned each was a painter. jFour will have a show at the Broome Street Gallery in Soho in October.
   As an architect in Bethesda, Md., Ms. Townsend managed residential remodeling and addition projects and designed exterior deck, porch and arbor projects.
   In the end, she is guided by her inner voice. "I put (the collages) together in a non-intellectual way, so it's hard for me to explain them," she says.
   "Metro Musique" (pictured at left) evolved from a photograph she made of a gypsy playing the accordion on the Metro. She incorporated Picasso's illustrations of musicians, as well as a Parisian street with signage. Discussing a recent article in The New York Times Magazine about a Wall Street businessman who fulfills his passions playing keyboard on the New York City subway, Ms. Townsend says, "To follow your heart is the highest calling. Being an architect is impressive — the world puts prestige on things like that — but to really communicate feeling about the world is a higher calling."

Paris and New York: Photocollages by Emily Townsend is on view at the Brodsky Gallery, Educational Testing Service, Rosedale Road, Lawrence, through July 23. Gallery hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. For information, call (609) 921-3600.

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