Tall Socks presents a previously unpublished series of photographs captured by Mark Cohen during a pivotal moment in his early career. In the summer of 1973, Cohen relocated to New York City for a month to attend a filmmaking workshop at NYU. With his classes occupying only a small part of the day, he devoted most of his time to wandering the streets with his camera. While a few of the images were printed shortly afterward, the vast majority remained in negative form—unseen until now.
The New York City of the 1970s was a place marked by turbulence—rising crime, economic decline, and widespread urban decay. Many middle-class families had moved out, and the city bore the signs of abandonment: graffiti-covered walls, overflowing trash, and crumbling infrastructure. Yet amidst this backdrop, Cohen’s photographs reveal a city brimming with energy, motion, and resilience.
Rather than following a strict storyline, the book unfolds like a visual stroll through a city in flux. Each frame captures fleeting moments—an expressive glance, an unexpected detail, a sudden shift in light. The result is a rhythmic visual experience, with Cohen quietly embedded in the urban flow. There’s a tension that surfaces in certain shots—an uneasy stare or a darkened subway stairwell—but also flashes of whimsy: a girl’s exaggerated socks, a woman draped in peacock feathers, or a surreal moment involving a cardboard elephant.