​It is remarkable what can be created through the lens of a camera by a visionary photographer. Beginning on October 5, 2019 for three months, the Library Claude Lévi-Strauss in Paris is showcasing the photography exhibit “The Bronx-La Villette” by Parisian Italian artist Matteo Pellegrinuzzi.
 
This exhibition is a portrait of two areas in different parts of the world that share a similar story. Marked by a difficult past, a negative public image, working-class origins and a multicultural population that included large numbers of immigrants, both The Bronx in New York City and La Villette in Paris are today experiencing a deep urban renewal with an enduring spirit found in its residents.
 
“The Bronx - La Villette” project was conceived five years ago in cooperation with Alexandra Maruri, founder of Bronx Historical Tours in New York.  The photographer and Bronx tour guide began a friendship through a chance meeting on social media. As an admirer and follower of Matteo's work on Instagram, Alexandra began chatting with the photographer and would soon become Matteo's tour guide throughout The Bronx during his 2015 visit to The Big Apple.
 
Conversing throughout the tour, the two realized that there were numerous similarities between The New York City borough of The Bronx and the artist’s Paris neighborhood, La Villette.  With a history filled with struggle, neglect, abandonment and disinvestment in the 1980’s, both neighborhoods had come through these hard times as a result of a strong sense of community on the part of their respective humble and proud residents. 
 
As they explored The Bronx together, Alexandra suggested that Matteo consider taking photos  for a possible photography collection which paralleled their home neighborhoods in America and  in France.  Matteo agreed wholeheartedly with his esteemed tour guide, already snapping away and capturing Bronx locals and merchants in their native settings, just being their authentic selves. 

​Upon returning to Paris, Matteo’s attention would return to work deadlines, taking him several months to focus on the photographs he had taken during his Bronx trip. Looking at the image collection with fresh eyes a few months later, Matteo was intrigued by what he had captured in his simple portraits of the people who call The Bronx home, partaking in their ordinary, everyday lives.  
 
He fancied the collection so much that he decided to embark on a similar endeavor, capturing the people of his own Paris neighborhood of La Villette in their natural surroundings and daily lives, in much the same way. While the two cities were thousands of miles apart, characterized by different cultures, Matteo saw them much the same and wanted to capture his vision in photography to share with others. And with this next step came the birth of The Bronx-La Villette project.  According to Alexandra Maruri  "One of the main goals of this endeavor was to capture the human side of these communities from two different parts of the world. Both of these neighborhoods faced adversity, challenges and evolution." 
 
Located east of Montmartre, in the 19th District of Paris, La Villette possessed some similarities to The South Bronx, more than three thousand miles away.  Interestingly enough, both of these neighborhoods, were situated slightly outside the city proper.  The Bronx is an outer borough of world renowned Manhattan, the center of New York City.  Likewise, La Villette lies in the outer district of the epicenter of Paris.
 

​These two areas, though technically, part of their main city, have more "neighborhood" qualities of family, local businesses and hometown warmth, even though they are technically recognized as part of a bigger metropolis.
 
But perhaps the greatest commonality is their respective dark and gray reputation to the world at large as "dangerous" and "unsafe" places. The Bronx has long endured the negative view from the outside as being a bad place, full of undesirables and peril to those who visit.  According to Matteo, La Villette suffered in much the same way, being portrayed on the world stage and in the media, as an unsafe area of Paris.
 
The globalized shadowy, somber and mirky reputations shared and promulgated in the news and by Hollywood has left a lasting impression in people's consciousness about these two neighborhoods, in particular The Bronx. However, Matteo's photography collection captures the humanity and down to earth aspects of the individuals that reside in The Bronx and La Villette.
 
With his introduction to the South Bronx by Alexandra, Matteo immediately found the similarities to his Parisian neighborhood, La Villette and endeavored to exhibit, in his own words, “the differences and similarities of these two places through my art and give them the dignity that they deserve.”

​Born and raised in Italy, Matteo departed his homeland for the city of Paris a decade ago, where he currently resides and is proud to call home.  His love of photography started at the tender age of four, taking his first photograph and soon thereafter, the proud owner of his very own camera at age six!  Matteo established himself as a professional photographer, first working for news agencies and then moving along to the glamour of fashion photography for such renown publications as Vogue Italy and G.Q. Magazines, respectively.
 
Speaking about his technique, Matteo says, "For many years my photographic narrative was an  interest in people and their relationship with their location showing current realities that could one day be forgotten. The means I employ  are the portrait and reportage, often made of silver medium or large format. This allows me to freeze a moment, an emotion, a place, which becomes almost unique.”
 
During Matteo’s visit to New York in April 2018,  I had an opportunity to speak with the artist in  detail about his style and photography preferences. He shared with me that, in his opinion, and quite obviously to the trained eyes of a photographer, good, old fashioned film is the best method for optimum photographic aesthetic quality. This is precisely how he shot his photos for The Bronx-La Villette project, all of which are featured in black and white.  

The outdoor sculpture gallery that comprises The Hall of Fame for Great Americans is of course located on the grounds of Bronx Community College, but what many may not realize is that it is the first ever such hall of fame in the country.

Conceived by Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken, Chancellor of New York University, the Hall of Fame was intended as a way to honor Americans who made a significant contribution to our society. According to The American Monthly Review of Reviews published in 1900, Chancellor MacCracken acknowledged that his inspiration was derived from the Ruhmeshalle (Hall of Fame) in Munich, Germany.

​And while fame has come to mean more of “celebrity” these days, over a century ago, the meaning was more akin to that of “renown” which is ever apparent from the 96 (formerly 98) portrait busts that line the 630 foot open-air Colonnade of the Hall of Fame.

Originally built on the grounds of what was New York University’s University Heights campus, the school was forced to sell the campus to the City University of New York in 1973 when it then became Bronx Community College. What a lovely inheritance for BCC – an architectural masterpiece which had previously been designated a New York City Landmark on February 15, 1966 and would be added to the National Register of Historical Placed on September 7, 1979.

Mr. Ultan delighted our mesmerized group with fundamental facts about those individuals honored and a few tidbits of trivia which included how the Munchkins of Munchkinland mentioned the Hall of Fame in the 1939 feature film, The Wizard of Oz when they were honoring Dorothy.

The Beaux Arts structure was designed by the architect Stanford White (who, incidentally also designed the BCC Gould Memorial Library), was named for its donor Helen Gould and dedicated on May 30, 1901.

If you are curious like me, you may be wondering how it came to be decided who would be featured in the Hall of Fame. Well, as Mr. Ultan explained, there was a procedure and a number of requirements to the process. Each state was allowed to nominate notable persons for consideration, regardless of gender or race, however, individuals were required to be native born or naturalized (since 1914) citizens of the United States.

To avoid the prospect of self promotion, it was required that nominees be dead for 10 years from 1900 to 1920 and then it was increased to 25 years deceased in 1922. Lastly, a nominee must have made a major contribution to the economic, political, or cultural life of the nation.

I decided to embark on a little research myself about the election process and came upon a wonderful article written by Richard Rubin of The Atlantic Monthly, written in 1997, entitled “The Mall of Fame” which explains the election process beautifully:

“MacCracken wanted to make sure that the people enshrined in his Hall of Fame were truly famous, not just memorable. So he established a board of electors, composed of men and women who were themselves possessed of some measure of renown, ostensibly people of great character and sound judgment. Over the years that body would include the most respected writers, historians, and educators of their day, along with scores of congressmen, a dozen Supreme Court justices, and six Presidents…It was a truly democratic institution — anyone could nominate a candidate, admission would be free, and although NYU served as a
steward, raising funds and running the elections, the whole thing was technically the property of the American people.”

The Colonnade is well-designed and broken into categorized marked sections, that comprise fifteen classes and our delightful tour guide highlighted several individuals from each one, providing insight into their accomplishments and contributions. These classes include ​authors and editors, businessmen, inventors, missionaries and explorers, philanthropists and reformers, clergymen and theologians, scientists, engineers and architects, lawyers and judges, musicians, painters, and sculptors, physicians and surgeons, politicians and statesmen, soldiers and sailors, teachers and distinguished men and women outside of these classes.

Equally relevant are the sculptures who created the busts, who were as diversified in their backgrounds and native countries as the elected individuals whose likenesses fill the hall. Upon entering from the grounds of the campus, the first category featured are inventors and scientists, which was a great way to kick off the tour!
Here is a short list of those individuals featured on our tour. See how many you know!

• Alexander Graham Bell – (Inventor of the telephone)
• Eli Whitney – (Inventor of the cotton gin, among other items)
• James Buchanan Eads – (American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than 50 patents)
• Simon Newcome – (Calculated the orbits of the planets)
• Maria Mitchell – (Vassar’s first professor of astronomy and discovered a comet named for her.)
• George Westinghouse- (American civil engineer and inventor, holding more than 50 patents.)
• William Thomas Green Morton – (American dental surgeon who in 1846 gave the first successful public demonstration of ether anesthesia during surgery)
• Walter Reade (Discovered yellow fever caused by mosquitos)
• Joseph Henry – (John Flanagan who sculpted his bust did the design of the US quarter)
• Josiah Willard Gibbs – (Theory of thermodynamics)
• Thomas Edison – (American inventor and businessman who has been described as America’s greatest inventor.)
• The Wright Brothers – (American inventor and businessman who has been described as America’s greatest inventor.)
• George Washington Carver (American agricultural scientist and inventor. 2nd black inductee)
• Thomas Paine – (American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, revolutionary and author of Common Sense)
• Ben Franklin (American polymath, Founding Fathers of the United States, writer, printer, political philosopher, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.)
• George Washington (Unanimously elected in 1900)
• John Adams – (American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States)
• Thomas Jefferson – (American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States)
• Henry Clay – (Attorney and statesman, congressman, secretary of state)
• Abraham Lincoln – (16th president of the United States who preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy)
• Daniel Webster (Orator, congressman and champion of a strong federal government)
• James Madison (Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights)
• Andrew Jackson – (Preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy)
• Alexander Hamilton – (Politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker, economist, Founding Father of the United States, founder of the nation’s financial system, the Federalist Party, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. This sculpting is the only depiction done from life and used to make others.)
• Grover Cleveland – (The only president in American history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office)
• William Penn – (Founder of the English North American colony the Province of Pennsylvania, early advocate of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Native Americans.The only person sculpted with his hat)
• Susan B Anthony – (Social reformer and women’s rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women’s suffrage movement)
• Booker T Washington (First president of Tuskegee Institute – first black individual in Hall of Fame)
• Henry David Thoreau – (American philosophy)
• Harriet Beecher Stowe – (Writer of Uncle Tom’s Cabin)

Two individuals’ busts were removed in 2017 due a changing political climate about the Civil War and they include Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. However, history is history in my opinion, good or bad, and while society may not agree with the political position held by these men by today’s standards, there is no disputing that they made other contributions to our country.

In the case of Robert E. Lee, he is disliked today because he was a commander of the Confederate States Army, however, he was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. He also distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, and served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy.
​
As for Stonewall Jackson, he was also a Confederate general during the American Civil War and his military strategies are still studied today.

With my college years as a student at Fordham University decades behind me, I’m once again focusing in on institutions of higher learning with two teenage daughters who are becoming increasingly aware of the many options they will have to consider during the next few years.
In many ways, I took for granted just how amazing a school Fordham was when attending. However, now that I am beginning the college investigative process with my teenage kids with objectivity, it is no wonder Fordham is a much desired college to attend by kids around the country and the world!
Here are ten lesser known facts that you might not be aware of about this prestigious Bronx university.

1. Fordham ranks in Top 100 college and universities in 2019

In a ranking of all national universities, Fordham, private and co-ed, ranked #70. The university has some of the highest-ranked graduate programs in New York and the Northeast, from business and law to education and social work. The Gabelli School of Business, in particular, is recognized as one of the top business schools in the nation.


2. Top Ranking for Best Undergraduate Teaching

Based on a survey conducted in the spring of 2018, Fordham was ranked among the most prestigious universities for putting a particular emphasis on undergraduate teaching. The ranking were tallied from the most votes given by top college administrators and Fordham came in at #52 along with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania State University. 


3. Fordham University is the Oldest Catholic College in the Northeast

Fordham University was founded by the Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St. John’s College, making it the oldest Roman Catholic institution of higher education in the northeastern United States. The vision began in 1840 when The Most Reverend John J. Hughes purchased the bulk of Rose Hill Manor, a private farm in the village of Fordham, now part of The Bronx. The administrators brought in Jesuit educators to run the college in 1845, establishing Fordham as New York City’s only Jesuit institution. The school is also the third-oldest university in the state of New York, after New York University and Columbia University.


4. Tuition at Fordham University is Slightly Higher Than Average

The undergraduate tuition and fees at Fordham University are slightly higher than the average amount of similar schools’ tuition. The 2019 undergraduate tuition & fees of Fordham University are $52,687 for their students and approximately an additional $17,969 for room and board.

Graduate school tuition & fees for 2019 are $34,363. On average, annual tuition for private 4-Year not-for-profit colleges and universities total about $50,900 for annual tuition and fees.

Incidentally, this is a far cry from what it cost when I was an undergraduate student back in the day at $10,000 with room and board!


5. Students Enjoy the Experience of Urban Living and Inter-Campus Travel

​The school motto says it best with “New York is my campus. Fordham is my school.” In the heart of The Bronx, the Rose Hill Campus offers both its outdoor gardenesque grounds and the ultimate urban setting outside its gates. With its second residential campus at Lincoln Center, in the cultural heart of Manhattan near Central Park, transportation between the two is easy and accessible via the school’s Ram Van shuttle that runs every half hour. The college’s third campus in Westchester’s Harrison can also be reached by means of the Ram Van.

​6. Campus Life versus City Apartment Living

Fordham University offers resident students the chance to select their preference for living quarters all four years. Even Freshmen do not have to live on campus, if they choose, taking advantage of the Bronx apartment life. However, any student who is promised housing upon admittance to the school is guaranteed a room for four consecutive years. 


7. Fashion Law Anyone?

Fordham School of Law, is home to the first Fashion Law Institute in the country. With the help of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, it’s the world’s first center dedicated to the law and business of fashion teaching the four pillars of this specialty which include Intellectual property, Business and finance, International trade and government regulation, including sustainability, privacy, and issues related to wearable technology and Consumer culture and civil rights. 


8. The Opportunity to Live on a Biological Field Station

Ever imagine what it would be like to reside in a log cabin and study your natural surroundings? Each year, this becomes a reality for twelve lucky graduate students who are able to live in log cabins allowing them to be closer to their research. Graduates and undergraduates alike may take advantage of the Louis Calder Center, a biological field station where environmental studies courses and research are conducted.


9. It’s Not Greek to Me

Although co-ed with many activities, clubs and academic studies, this Jesuit university does not offer a Greek life (fraternities or sororities). 


10. Students Love Fordham

It’s a good sign that students love their school when retention and graduation rates are high. At Fordham University, the rate of student retention is very high at 91%, which is well above New York average. The graduation rate at Fordham University is very good too at 81%.


11. A Fordham Education is Mark of Distinction

According to recent government data, 42,811 applications were submitted to Fordham University by students wanting to attend and 20,366 were accepted, so it is pretty difficult to be accepted at this school. On the flip side, if you or your loved ones are lucky enough to be accepted and earn a degree from this prestigious Bronx college, then you should be very proud.

Till next time,
-Elisa