Happy 90th for Macy’s Parade
If you can’t get to today’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a new book from Rizzoli that celebrates the event’s 90th anniversary might be the next best thing. “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: A New York Holiday Tradition,” includes archival photographs and an essay by Steven M. Silverman on its past and present, but what really brings the parade to life are the more than 100 color photographs by Matt Harnick, who divides his time between East Hampton and New York City.
The book’s genesis can be traced to Mr. Harnick, who in 2009 took his Nikon D80 and a new lens to photograph the balloon inflation on West 81st Street the day before the parade. He didn’t have far to go. Because his parents, the lyricist Sheldon Harnick and the photographer Margery Gray Harnick, live at 81st Street and Central Park West, the younger Mr. Harnick has been a spectator since childhood.
He was happy enough with the inflation shots that he photographed the parade itself as well, and he shot both the setup and the parade again in 2010. “A lot of people saw those pictures and said I should share them with everyone,” he said. ”That’s where the idea for a book came from.”
Mr. Harnick and Jane Lahr, his rep and the actor Burt Lahr’s daughter, put the idea for the book together and began shopping it in 2013. After three publishers expressed interest, Ms. Lahr brought the book to Macy’s — “and they flipped over it,” said Mr. Harnick. Since Macy’s had been looking for a way to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the parade, they signed on, and in 2015 Rizzoli agreed to publish it.
“I’m actually more used to photographing natural subjects, like birds, so I’m used to things being in motion. Moreover, because I grew up in the neighborhood and I know the topography, I can guess where I’ll get the best shots.” While he had previously been limited to 81st Street, in 2014 and 2015 he had an all-access pass.
In addition to the parade and balloon inflation, the book also includes photographs from the 72,000-square-foot structure in Moonachie, N.J., where the balloons, floats, and costumes are designed. Preparations for each parade begin approximately 18 months before the event.
The first parade, which consisted of Santa Claus, several bands, and a circus contingent, took place in 1924. Tony Sarg, a noted puppeteer and theatrical designer, was the mastermind and artistic director of the event, which drew a large crowd but received only two paragraphs on page 17 of The New York Times.
In 1927, Felix the Cat, also the work of Mr. Sarg, joined the parade as its first inflatable. The original balloons were inflated by air and carried on sticks, but helium was introduced the following year. A 40-foot Mickey Mouse balloon, designed by Walt Disney himself, appeared in 1934, followed, a year later, by Donald Duck. Since then, two to four balloons have been added annually. In this century, Macy’s began inviting artists to create balloon designs, among them Tom Otterness, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, the Keith Haring Estate, and Tim Burton.
The crowds have increased exponentially; 3.5 million people attended in 2015. “The parade has become much more sophisticated,” said Mr. Harnick. “The detailing on the floats, the beautiful costumes, and all the thought that goes into it are very different from what I remember from when I was much younger. There were huge crowds then, but nothing like what we have now.”
He notes that the entire neighborhood shuts down on Thanksgiving Day, and that inflation day has become its own holiday, drawing people from all over the world. Even though he won’t have an all-access pass, Mr. Harnick plans to shot the parade this year.
Nature photography remains his year-round interest. “When I have a chance, I photograph in Central Park. My favorite places to photograph on the East End are Louse Point and Montauk Point. I’ve gotten some really spectacular stuff there.”