Case study
Lincoln Center:
New York City Tableau.
NEW YORK CITY TABLEAU is a large-scale art piece, commissioned by The Lincoln Center - the largest performing arts institution in the world, home to the New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, the New York Opera, Juilliard, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and many more. This six-month, grand undertaking utilized every aspect of Humans Are Social's capabilities, both creatively and in production.
01THE COMMISSION
Humans got the RFP from Lincoln Center in December of 2024 and were awarded the job in January, 2025. Within days, we were off to NYC to scout locations.
- Role
- Creative Concept & Production
- Scale
- 140′ × 8′ Mural
- Production
- 6 month production | 12 days of shooting
- Placement
- Lincoln Center Campus
The ask was to concept an art piece that could capture the totality of Lincoln Center and that could fill a giant wall space, 140' wide. to get a sense of the scale, here is a scaled model of the aspect ratio:
There is no other place in the world where life on and off stage are so intertwined and reflective of each other.
NEW YORK CITY is unique in many ways, but from the standpoint of art and performance, it is the way people's everyday lives are so reflected in the arts that stood out to us. Who can relate to the artists' struggle of La Boheme better than New Yorkers? From street life depicted in West Side Story to the deep emotion of ballet and orchestral pieces to the diversity of dance's many authors and shapes, one feels the essence of the city both on and off stage.
The piece we presented proposed a sprawling journey that connected everyday life with performance in and around Lincoln Center. We called it: NEW YORK CITY TABLEAU.
02THE MURAL
03PRODUCTION
Great Expectations.
Lincoln Center is made up of individual companies, all of which have their own rules and guiding principles for representation. To bring it all together into one image required a sophisticated production plan and tight working relationship.
- – 01
Scouting & Access
Multiple scouting trips to NYC, mapping ever space across every organization within the Lincoln Center umbrella. Three union agreements, multiple permits and a coordinated effort of approvals among all stakeholders.
- – 02
Two Weeks of Shooting
Once the plan was in place, we shot in two major chunks. One ten-day stint, with up to three shoots in a day. And then a separate visit to catch two live performances by both the NY Philharmonic and the NYC Opera.
- – 03
Materials
Big displays, large printouts and center stage spotlights had us using the best production tools available to get stunning, high-resolution outputs across both stills and video. For photography, we used the Hasselblad X2D medium format camera and for the film, we shot on the Arri Alexa Mini.
- – 04
Teams
Various crews touched the project - a 10-person crew from Los Angeles handled movement direction, film production, health & wellness, production assistance and BTS capture. Another 7-person crew in NY handled hair & makeup, art, wardrobe and support. Then of course the coordination and cooperation of numerous members of Lincoln Center's staff, unions and personnel.
Final images were sent to a high-end retoucher in Burbank.
- 01Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- 02New York Philharmonic
- 03New York City Ballet
- 04The Juilliard School
- 05New York Opera
- 06Jazz at Lincoln Center
- 07Lincoln Center Theater
- 08Film at Lincoln Center
- 09School of American Ballet
- 10Public Library for the Performing Arts
- 11Chamber Music Society
- 12Ladies of Hip Hop
- 13Epic Players
04THE FILM
The Lincoln Center
A HUMANS ARE SOCIAL PRODUCTION
05BTS
06FUN FACTS
An Homage
In 1981, the largest breakdance battle to date took place in the main plaza of the Lincoln Center. The image shown below, taken by Martha Cooper, not only sparked an idea to recreate the scene with The Ladies of Hip Hop, who are in the final piece, Cooper herself was a major influence on Director & Photographer, Josh S. Rose.
The group surrounding the breakers in our recreation are all members of Epic Players, a non-profit organization featuring neurodiverse performers in NYC.
A Place for Bernstein
The first panel of the mural sits in the iconic location of Broadway and Leonard Bernstein Place (W. 65th), with the Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall both in view.
While the action of the shot features members of the NY Philharmonic exiting a cab, every detail of the street scene has a reference to Lincoln Center. A group of women gather with tickets to Film at Lincoln Center and members of the School of American Ballet leap across the street, avoiding a puddle.
But our favorite addition to the scene is friend of Humans, J.D. Heilprin, with baton in hand, who just happens to bear incredible likeness to Leonard Bernstein himself. The inclusion of J.D. also holds importance to the director/photographer, as J.D. has long been one of Rose's closest friends and his deepest connection to New York itself.
07DIRECTOR'S NOTES
The name of our organization is Humans Are Social. Sean and I set out to create a creative organization with an insane goal - to be able to do work of any size, with any amount of pressure and stakes involved... and still manage to stay human, make friends, be healthy, have creative integrity and have a great time. Lincoln Center was more than a big win and a big project, it was a proof of concept for our entire approach.
08THE TEAM
Artists Capturing Artists
The gathering of humans for this project was no different than casting a performance. Easily one of the most talent-forward group of creators and production staff we've ever even seen, much less amassed ourselves.
There were roles, but no hierarchy. Brought on a group of people who are all artists in their own rights. And everything from the pre-production through production felt like one big, long family dinner.
It was important to us that in order to truly capture the world of the performing arts, everyone involved would need to have been intimately involved with that space. And so being on stage with the NYC Ballet, or in the streets with the NY Philharmonic or members of Jazz at Lincoln Center would feel like a jam session, not a shoot. And the work reflects those choices.
09FULL CREDITS
CREATIVE & PRODUCTION
Director Josh S. Rose
Executive Producer Sean Levitan
Movement Director Mike Tyus
Movement Assistant Madison Olandt
Director of Photography Anna Tse
Photographer Josh S. Rose
1st AC Chris Tse
DIT Vik Grossling
Documentary Luca Renzi
Key Grip Kevin O'Donnell
Producer Joshua Levitan
Producer Zachary Boucher
Casting Director Andrea Doronio
Art Director Milena Gorum
Art Assistant Adriana Faraudo
Art Assistant Atanasio Seferlis Jr.
Wardrobe Stylist Silvia Lee
Wardrobe Assistant Alicia Liu
Key Hair Stylist Jaz Shepard
Key Makeup Artist Sena Murahashi
Hair/Makeup Assistant Sofia Damasco
LINCOLN CENTER
Art Director Pat Morin
SVP, Marketing John Casavant
VP, Communications Isabel Sinistore
10RECEPTION
A Smash Hit
At the release, Humans provided social cuts and materials for a concerted social media push across every organization at Lincoln Center. Every channel, from NYC Ballet to the NY Philharmonic posted the materials and flooded social media with news of the launch.
The launch was also covered in the press by TimeOut NY and Broadway World.
As people start to experience the image at Lincoln Center, we will be posting all the selfies and videos people send us here!
