Nicholas Fraser

Fronts project

 

2010-present

 

 

 

 

Fascinated with the variety and inventiveness of urban signage and seeking ways to create text-based videos, I began filming storefronts in 2010. My quixotic goal was to collect a comprehensive video-based lexicon as raw material for my own projects. Only later did I realize the 3,200+ videos also function as a manifold portrait of contemporary urban life in public spaces. Each video captures the day-to-day activities of the street-scape, documenting a wide ranging portrait of 21st century culture.

 

These storefronts serve as witness to the momentous and mundane even as they too are continuously transformed.

 

Special thanks to the New York Foundation for the Arts for supporting this project with a 2014 Fellowship Award in Digital/Electronic Media.

Fronts project  -  2010-present

Fascinated with the variety and inventiveness of urban signage and seeking ways to create text-based videos, I began filming storefronts in 2010. My quixotic goal was to collect a comprehensive video-based lexicon as raw material for my own projects. Only later did I realize the 2,400+ videos also function as a manifold portrait of contemporary urban life in public spaces. Each video captures the day-to-day activities of the street-scape, documenting a wide ranging portrait of 21st century culture.

 

These storefronts serve as witness to the momentous and mundane even as they too are continuously transformed.

 

Every unedited video is available at vimeo.com/channels/fronts.

 

Google map detailing every location (with video links) at Fronts by Year

 

Special thanks to the New York Foundation for the Arts for supporting this project with a 2014 Fellowship Award in Digital/Electronic Media.