City Whispers, Philadelphia (81DA-2), 1981
Gelatin silver print, printed 1992
11 × 14 inches
Stamp Signature on verso
AP-2
Jan 26, 2026
Ray Metzker had an unrivaled ability to craft high drama from the workaday moments of urban life. The familiar image of commuters waiting for a bus would seem unremarkable, yet a shaft of light, falling like a spotlight, creates the feeling that the silhouetted woman on the right is poised to deliver an opera's libretto.
This photograph is a classic example of both Metzker's artistic temperament and his working methods. Taken on Market Street at Centre Square, above Philadelphia's City Hall Metro station, the image belongs to his City Whispers body of work. In this series, Metzker prowled the city’s central business corridor in search of fleeting moments of transformative light, elevating the daily routines of Philadelphia's urban denizens into a deeply felt form of human theater.
