Frankfurt - New York

Photographic perspectives of two metropolises

Frankfurt is often called "Mainhattan". Anyone who has ever been to New York will, of course, have to smile a little at this comparison when entering Manhattan at the latest. At first glance, the "Big Apple" and the Frankfurt skyline have relatively little in common. Frankfurt simply cannot compete with the size of New York, even though we can boast some truly impressive buildings here that make the cityscape unique, at least in Germany. But on closer inspection, there are some surprising similarities between the two metropolises. And photographer Torsten Andreas Hoffmann has taken a closer look. His illustrated book "Frankfurt - New York", which has now been published in a fourth, expanded edition by Societäts Verlag, shows these parallels, but also the differences between the two cities, in a way that is worth seeing, entertaining, and at times pleasantly ironic.

Hoffmann juxtaposes the smallest and the largest metropolis in the world, each on a double page spread. There is, for instance, the famous Wall Street on one side, the less popular Wallstrasse on the other, the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island on the left, the Statue of Liberty as an advertising figure in a Frankfurt telephone shop on the right. On one side the aggressive looking bull in front of the New York Stock Exchange, on the other the calmer, prouder looking bull in front of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. On the other hand, the facades of two Starbucks cafes in the Big Apple and in Mainhattan are hardly distinguishable from each other. And even the relaxing cigarette in between is enjoyed very similarly in both cities.

A glimpse into subway stations, majestic skyscraper facades, the view from the Maintower and the Empire State Building, the Schirn and the Guggenheim Museum, the new East Port Bridge compared to the Brooklyn Bridge - Hoffmann has captured landmarks of the cities just as beautifully as lesser-known, less picturesque places. The numerous black-and-white photographs not only paint an extremely handsome picture of Frankfurt and New York, they also perfectly capture the lively hustle and bustle of both cities. The city that never sleeps on the one hand, the city that seems to go to sleep quickly after work on the other.

It is precisely the differences, so obvious despite all the similarities, that are the very special charm of this beautiful illustrated book. The fact that the juxtapositions are not always entirely without irony is another good reason to put this beautiful declaration of love for two unique cities on your bookshelf. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp