Girls in the windows, 1960
“Girls in the Windows”, 1960 is an image not only about beauty, fashion and the ingenious orchestration of 43 women standing at the windows and on the sidewalk, some daringly climbing onto the window sills. It is also a slice of time in history, as it captures a row of three classic New York Brownstones, which were demolished the day after the shoot. Gigli, who lived across the street, wanted to immortalize the buildings and thus envisioned the photograph. His meticulous planning and direction resulted in a dramatically compelling and memorable artwork.
The richness of the photograph stems from the ability to appreciate it in different ways: either as a whole, as a rhythmic composition of color and form, formed by the pattern of windows, human figures and colorful dresses; or the viewer is drawn to explore its various parts, each woman presenting a different point of interesting story (Gigli’s wife is on the second floor, far right and the demolition supervisor’s wife is on the third floor, third from left). It has since been the inspiration to many recreations by other image makers.
