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Organism, 1975—A Film by Hilary Harris

Using time-lapse footage of New York City, the filmmaker Hilary Harris imagines the metropolis as a living organism.
This article is part of From the Vaults, a series that shines a light on the Museum’s audiovisual archive.

Using time-lapse footage of New York City, the filmmaker Hilary Harris imagines the metropolis as a living organism. Traffic arteries are seen as the bloodstream circulating through the urban body; skyscrapers are the skeletal structure. Shops, railroads, bridges, beaches, and parades are juxtaposed with cellular activity shown under the microscope, illustrating the greater choreography of city life in all its fascinating complexity.


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