How do Jim Goldberg and Ryan McGinley explore the idea of youth culture through photography?

‘Damn girl, it’s only a story. It’s not real. And don’t worry, there is a happy ending. ‘

– — Tweeky Dave, Raised by Wolves (Jim Goldberg)

The idea of youth culture is often romanticized through media, especially in the present day through unrealistic beauty standards and expectations that all adolescents should have a positive mindset because they’re ‘only young’. Through social media in particular, a negative stereotype is fed to teenagers that growing up is easy and undemanding, whereas in reality, it can at times be the opposite. In my personal study I plan to explore youth culture in a different light. This interests me as I feel the portrayal of adolescents in media is often unrealistic, blocking out the hedonistic and reckless side of teenage life which is deemed ‘taboo’ in the eyes of society. Therefore, I have chosen the theme of youth culture for my personal study to prove my point that it is a part of growing up and that although to some it may be considered an unacceptable stereotype, it sure is fun.

My chosen artists for my project are Jim Goldberg and Ryan McGinley, two photographers that showcase a side of youth culture that is lesser captured in photography. Jim Goldberg is an LA based artist, most well known for his photobook Raised by Wolves, a ten-year documentation into the lives of teenage drug addicts living on the streets of Hollywood. Through a collection of images paperwork and interviews, Goldberg weaves together a story that makes the reader feel connected with his subjects. When asked about his intention behind the photobook, Goldberg simply said ‘“I had done the Rich, and I had done the Poor, and I had done the Old with Nursing Home, so it made sense to do something with young people.’ His work inspires me because it captures an unfiltered, raw & realistic side of youth culture that is often brushed under the carpet in media coverage. In my project, I aimed to respond to his work by taking a variety of images depicting stereotypes in youth culture that are considered negative, focusing on the lows in teenage life such as violence and the aftermath of hedonistic tendencies. On the other hand, my second artist Ryan McGinley portrays the topic of youth culture in a more fun, positive light, capturing the freedom and liberation of being a teenager but still including the self-indulgence of growing up, mainly through his photobook The Kids were Alright, where he would photograph himself and his friends in New York, most often out late at night smoking, drinking or spraying graffiti tags on walls. In my project, I aimed to respond to his work by photographing my friends in their most carefree state, aiming to capture the essence and intimacy of teenage life.

In media today, negative and unrealistic stereotypes have been normalized. There is never a middleground for how teenagers are perceived, especially in TV and social media. On one hand, social media presents teenage celebrities / influencers as living the perfect life which sets a standard that may confuse someone whose life may not be as ‘perfect’, leading them to believe they need to live up to the unrealistic standard of their potential ‘role model’. On the other hand, teenagers with a more troubled life are also depicted unrealistically, especially in TV with shows like ‘Skins’ that romanticize a darker side of youth culture and depict serious topics such as drug addiction and death through rose-coloured glasses, influencing younger viewers that such severe hedonism is the norm in teenage life. Therefore within media there is no representation for teenagers in the middle, neither perfect nor troubled. This leaves us feeling like an outsider to the experience of growing up. The concept of Insider vs. Outsider is a key factor in youth culture photography, as it helps provide narrative and establish connection between the photographer and their subject(s). Inside/Out Solomon-Godeau, Abigail (1994) is an article analysing the ethics of works by photographers such as Nan Goldin, who presents a similar aesthetic to Goldberg’s work, however through the insider perspective. Solomon-Godeau proposes the question of what is acceptable to photograph as an outsider, and how a photographers interaction with their subject can push past surface level from voyeuristic to engaging. Goldbergs work is a good example of this, as although he lived a very different life from his subjects, he gained their trust and managed to immerse viewers into the essence and unity of their culture whilst still being an outsider by photographing his subjects in both candid and staged images, capturing both the isolation and bleakness of street life whilst still telling each characters unique story in an almost liberating light. He stated in an interview with Magnum “Feeling like an outsider enabled me to evoke stories from the people I worked with because I could relate to them. I always aimed to get to a point where empathy and trust were created… Having people write directly on photos was a way to access their thoughts”. On the other hand, Ryan McGinley’s images are taken from an insider perspective, as his images were composed mainly of himself and his friends, a self-documentation of life in New York. Although Goldberg’s work tells a better story, McGinleys images provide a more relatable narrative that captures the fun and empathy of hanging out in a group of friends. However, at times McGinley blurred the lines between Insider vs. Outsider perspective, often meeting up with a group of graffiti artists he was unfamiliar with. Through these photographs McGinley immersed himself in a different culture, reflected through his images that depict said graffiti artists in their element, this gives a sense of freedom in an art style that is usually considered a negative stereotype. Within my own work, I have taken my images from an insider viewpoint – however my work will be presented to those who are unfamiliar with myself and my friends, so to help give context to outsiders I aim to include text and interviews with my friends, therefore providing an engaging narrative that immerses viewers in the culture of growing up on an Island.

Jim Goldberg explores the idea of youth culture from a darker, more political viewpoint, capturing the lives of troubled youth that were mistreated not only by their guardians but the American justice system as a whole. In 90’s America, the number of homeless youth was at its height due to the homelessness crisis that rose in the 80’s. Youth on the streets had to do whatever they could to survive, putting them in dangerous situations, especially with the rise of the AIDS epidemic across America. Goldberg briefly touches on this in his book, stating that few of his subjects were battling AIDS amongst other illnesses that came as a complication to living on the street. In the same interview with Magnum, Goldberg stated ‘I tried to pull the curtain away and talk about issues of neglect and abuse and show the breadth of reasons why these kids were running from home. Often it was because of abuse, or the pursuit of Hollywood dreams, or coming out to their parents and being kicked out.’ Goldberg is not afraid to expose the injustice his subjects faced at the hands of America’s federal system, including court documents and numerous times cops have arrested him for being a bystander to the offences his subjects have committed. This shows the dedication Goldberg put into the book to spread awareness on the side of youth culture that is commonly swept under the carpet in media coverage. His subjects live off impulse and hedonism, yet Goldberg portrays them in a way where we feel connected to them, and in some cases even sympathize with them. An example of this is Tweeky Dave, arguably the books protagonist. Dave is presented to us at the start of the book with an in-your-face, self proclaimed ‘kamikaze’ personality that makes the reader instantly fond of him. Goldberg pieces together his life and eventual death in a heartbreaking way, documenting his love for drugs, hatred for the police and admiration for his on again, off again girlfriend Echo that presents him as the focus of the book and a voice for troubled youth on the street.

ANALYSIS

This image is one of many that encapsulates the characters in Raised by Wolves. This photo of Dave, taken in black and white, hones in on what may be considered an insecurity – his messy scar and crooked smile, yet he presents himself with such confidence that this image showcases the liberation of Dave and his culture in a positive light. Presented on a double-page spread, these pages tell us a story without the need for excessive detail. The atmosphere of the image is enhanced through text, with the statement ‘I’m Dave who the fuck are you’ that sums up his wild personality through a single sentence and a set of bold black and white images that catch your eye. I feel this image is Goldbergs best portrayal of youth culture as it shows life through Dave’s eyes and tells a story of his character and personality, even if not entirely true. Goldberg states that “The stories that they (his subjects) created about themselves were based on Hollywood, rock and roll, and love stories… They would flow back and forth and be the new James Deans or Johnny Rottens” Although the persona of Dave may be blurring the lines between fiction and reality, Goldberg pieces it together through images like these to establish connection between the reader and his subjects, bringing himself away from the outsider viewpoint and immersing himself in the characters and culture to create a sense of fluidity within his images.

I took this image whilst out at a forest with some friends. This photo clearly shows Goldberg’s influence on my work, with the use of handwritten text. In planning for my project, i asked some friends to write what they thought of being a teenager in Jersey. Gathering the responses I overlaid the text onto my photos. I think adding this to my work provided a clearer narrative and a good representation of my projects theme, as I took different opinions and responded by taking my photos not just from my perspective, but from the perspective of my friends to help present a broader idea of youth culture in Jersey. The image is taken at night, the subjects in the image dimly lit by the fire and street lights from the distance. I wanted this image to have a variety of viewpoints as many things stood out to me upon taking this image, e.g the silhouette of the trees and the singular star in the distance.

Ryan McGinleys earlier work explores the hedonistic side of adolescence, focusing on New York street culture where he would document himself and his friends on nights out through a range of disorderly, hectic images in his 2003 photobook The Kids were Alright. McGinley broke barriers in standard youth culture photography upon the release of his book, capturing everything that went on around him with a chaotic essence that ties together to create a free-spirited, carefree representation of being around friends, a basic narrative that he took and pushed to the limit. In an interview with the NY Times, McGinley stated “I feel like I’ve always been sort of in the spirit of the documentary photographer, exploring every aspect, kind of using my life as my art.” In The Kids were Alright, McGinley explores marginalized groups within youth culture, focusing on skaters and graffiti artists that are commonly perceived in society as wreckless and antisocial through harmful stereotypes. Although he captures the fun and liberation in hobbies such as skating, McGinley also explores aspects of violence that comes with self-indulgent tendancies, photographing his friends with black eyes and bloody noses to show how party culture can get out of hand. After the release of The Kids were Alright, McGinley began to change his approach to youth culture photography from documentation of real-life situations to staged photographs that hold an ethereal, more peaceful atmosphere yet still capture the intimacy and liberation of youth. Another one of his works that stood out to me is his 2011 photobook ‘You and I’, a compilation of photographs involving models in open, natural spaces. Although a juxtaposition from his earlier works, this book stood out to me as i feel it embodies the essence of growing up and portrays a freeing, whimsical feeling that i resonate with and have attempted to replicate in my own work.

This image, titled Dash Bombing, shows Dash, one of the more frequently photographed one of McGinleys friends, graffitiing a tag onto the side of a building in New York. The background of the image is dark, dimly lit by the streetlights in the distance. Dash is the lone subject in this photo, momentarily isolating him from civilization as the photo places all focus on him. This image is one of many by McGinley that show the beauty of street art and the dedication graffiti artists put into their practice. Although some link graffiti to antisocial behaviour and gang culture it is used as a way to spread a social or political message. This image showcases a common theme of stillness within McGinleys work – although other features of the book are presented as chaotic and busy, this image resonates a feeling of peace and intimacy – McGinley photographs in a way that immerses us into the atmosphere and the moment captured within the image.

I took this image in response to McGinleys work. It features my friend Tristan, swinging from a tree in a field i visited with my friends. This image is part of a small photoshoot i did whilst out with mates, aiming to capture what we got up to in our free time in a candid style, much like both McGinley and Goldbergs work. Tristan is an isolated subject in this photo which focuses the attention onto him as the trees in the background slowly fade out into the dark. This image to me shows a freeing and fun atmosphere, devoid of anything chaotic, and conveys the adventurous atmosphere of teenage life, with nowhere to be and your only priority being surrounded by your friends and living in the moment. An element of my image-taking process I wanted to stick to was the candidness of my photos- instead of making my friends pose I let them roam and stood away with my camera, blurring the lines between Insider vs. Outsider to provide a unique and fresh narrative to my images.

Goldberg and McGinley present both close similarities and vast differences within their works. In Raised By Wolves, there is a strong underlying political message of bringing awareness to taboo subjects such as addiction, prostitution and homelessness, however through the books characters it becomes a voice for youth culture through liberating atmosphere the characters radiate, without romanticizing the grittier, darker side of street life; much like The Kids Were Alright, which too takes negative stereotypes such as violence and portrays them in a positive light. Unlike Raised by Wolves, the book is devoid of seriousness, and is simply a documentation of fun, which is what i aimed to replicate within my work, yet still include a side to growing up that is often unseen.