By Daphne Sashin
As a child growing up in South Philadelphia, Sean Green, an environmental services associate at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), often walked with his family to admire the lights on the 1700 block of Addison Street in Rittenhouse Square. The street is illuminated with LED lights all year round, making it a popular destination for tourists, proposals, and even weddings.
Green’s mesmerizing photo, “Winters on Addison,” is one of more than 100 works of art by University of Pennsylvania Health System staff, patients, volunteers, and friends now on display in the annual “A Celebration of Art and Life” exhibition on the first floor of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (PCAM). The exhibit was created in memory of Bernett L. Johnson, MD, HUP’s former chief medical officer who was also an oil painter.
Now 33 years old, Green started taking photos when he was 21, first with just his phone, later upgrading to a Canon Rebel T6. He especially loves shooting skylines and full moons; when he started working at HUP, he expanded his repertoire to views from the South Street Bridge on his walks to and from work.
But Green and his camera always seem to end up back on Addison Street. He shot this photo on Feb. 1, 2021.
“The day this photo was taken, it was a snowy day in Philadelphia and I couldn’t miss the chance of making it down to my favorite childhood block,” he told the PeriOperative Services Newsletter.
Many of the pieces, including Green’s, are available for purchase (contact information is displayed under the artwork). Green said he hoped his photo would bring others as much joy as it has given him. To see more of his photography or to get in touch with Green, find him on Instagram at @Seangreenphotography.