Whilst creating my project, I chose to do the theme of youth culture that I captured in my work through documentation-style photography that highlighted the authenticity behind my images, as the photo-taking process for this project simply based on capturing candid moments with my friends to create an atmosphere revolving around the freedom and liberation of youth culture on an Island. I feel I worked to the best of my extent whilst working on this project – I did multiple photoshoots in several locations during different times of the day to show the activities myself and my friends got up to whist being stuck on a small Island with limited places to go. Out of all of my photoshoots, my favourite ones were the images I produced during my night photoshoots in forests, as I had to experiment a lot due to limited lighting, which in the end created many interesting images for example the one below – this is amongst my favourites due to the way the branches contrast with the dark background and the figure captured in motion.
Overall, I really enjoyed making this project as I felt Islandness was a personal theme therefore I could work with it in any way i wanted, and was satisfied with the outcome as i felt it incorporated my artist references and the insider/outsider perspective I had planned to include in my work, but still had my own take on it. However if I could redo the project, I would focus more on applying my artists references into my photobook, as I was really inspired by the layout of Raised by Wolves, yet my photobook displayed a completely different aesthetic, which I liked but was not satisfied with the outcome of the layout.
Throughout my project, i took roughly around 500-600 images. I didn’t stick to a schedule of doing planned photoshoots, instead I took my camera around whenever i was with my friends and took images when something interesting caught my eye. Lighting and setting was a key element whilst using this method as i feel those are the main components for creating an eye-catching photograph.
My photoshoots consisted of three main settings; car drives, forests/parks, and in houses. Other images i took were photographed at random places, either around town or further out in Jersey.
CAR DRIVES
This is an example of one of my better outcomes of photographs taken on car drives. I like this photo because there is a viewpoint, the subject is making eye contact, and there is a distinctive square-shape around her head which catches the viewers eye. The background is devoid of any unwanted objects, and the colour of her hair and eyes is brought out by the blander colours surrounding her.
This image is part of a mini-photoshoot I took outside this shop. Although i liked how the silhouette looked in contrast to the bright lights of the shop, i felt there were too many focus points which made the photo look chaotic and messy.
FORESTS/PARKS
When out at night in forests with my friends, it was more difficult to get the outcome i wanted with my images due to lighting – therefore I had to adjust the ISO and shutter speed whilst taking my photos. This is an example of one of the better images i took whilst at this forest, a setting where i composed the most photographs. I like this photo because of the silhouette of the trees and singular star in the sky that catches the viewers eye if they look hard enough. I also think the red from the fire illuminating my friends faces looks good with the photo as the colours correspond well to each other.
This image is an example of wrong ISO and shutter speed and the outcome it will have when taken in dark lighting. I was disappointed with this image as i felt it could’ve turned out well and had good elements of colour and focus, but was too blurry to use in my photobook.
HOUSES
This image is an example of a better outcome because it represents my theme well. A persons bedroom and how they decorate it is a reflection of their identity, so by capturing photos of my friends in their rooms i can communicate my theme without directly showing it as portrayal of youth culture through small details. Lighting is also a key element in producing a good photo and i felt the lighting in this image was the right colour and brightness to get the image i wanted.
Since the main source of lighting in the room was only coming from a certain point, i had to take into consideration angles i photographed at whilst making my image. This photo is an example of how a poor angle can reflect badly on lighting – the image itself is too dark, and places the focus on the lamp, whereas instead i wanted myself to be the viewpoint of the image.
Whilst working on my project, I took roughly around 500-600 images, composed of about 4 photoshoots, along with a selection of random photos taken in other settings. Locations in my photoshoots included car drives with friends, fields & woods, and friends houses. After going through all my images, these were the ones that stood out most to me – however after editing I will narrow the images down.
I wanted to make sure all of my coloured images had similar tones to avoid them looking out of place, however some were too bright or dark, therefore I edited them on lightroom by turning up / down the saturation, exposure, and vibrance. My black and white images however were left for the majority unedited.
An example of adjusting the image to avoid an unwanted viewpoint. For this photo, I wanted the focus to be on my friend, however the posters were too bright and clashed with the white background, so I adjusted the hue to give a more yellow tone, and turned down the exposure to make his coat darker, therefore the viewers eye will immediately be drawn to him and any background ‘noise’ will be minimized.
Another example of adjusting colour in lightroom. Opposite to the image above, I felt this photo instead had too many yellow tones and wanted to adjust it to fit the colours of other images in my book – I turned down the saturation and temperature and turned the tint to give the image a slightly purple hue.
EDITING ON PHOTOSHOP
An example of my editing on Photoshop.
In my project I chose to incorporate text by tracing handwriting from a piece of paper – I had given it to my friends and asked them to write what they thought about Jersey. Instead of using a font I chose to replicate the handwriting as i felt it gave a more authentic feel to my photobook and took inspiration from Goldberg’s use of text in Raised by Wolves.
In order to do this, I screenshotted a particular bit of paper that I wanted on my image, then on Photoshop used the pen tool to draw over the layer. Deleting the photo after I was done left me with an overlay that resembled handwriting.
Example of how an overlay works in my editing process
Final outcome of editing on Photoshop. I like the way this page turned out as although it doesn’t feature a photo, it has a unique aspect i feel isn’t included in many other photobooks and it helps convey my theme of youth culture through different opinions. The handwriting also provides an authentic feel and looks as if it was written straight onto the page.
EXPERIMENTATION
For these pages, I originally wanted to include two photos with similar yellow/orange undertones, but upon placement I felt that the two images clashed.
Replacing the image I felt this one looked better but the images needed rearranging.
I am satisfied with the final outcome of this page as I feel the first image transitions smoothly into the other and the colours compliment each other well.
I felt this page looked good and the colours corresponded to each other well, but something felt missing on the second page.
Adding a second image made the pages look more interesting. Considering placement i made it a lot smaller than the photo of the sky as that was the one i preferred therefore wanted it to draw more attention.
‘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.
Dash Bombing, New York
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.
The story for my photobook explores youth culture within a small community such as an island, documenting what myself and my friends do in our free time and creating a narrative of life through the eyes of teenagers, aiming to capture the freedom and liberation of youth through a variety of photos taken in both chaotic and quiet atmospheres.
DESIGN & LAYOUT
To provide a better narrative, I have chosen to incorporate writing in my photobook, taken from a sheet of paper i asked my friends to write on, and give their opinion of life in Jersey as a teenager. Taking inspiration from Jim Goldberg and his messy style of photography, overlaying the writing onto my photos i feel will provide the unfiltered atmosphere that i attempt to convey in my images.
The layout for my photobook will feature both single-page portrait images and double page landscape spreads. I want a variety of different orientation in my book to catch the viewers eye and make a more interesting read. Certain sections of my both will contain a double-page feature on my friends, on one page will be an image of them, likely a headshot, and the opposing page will contain images of their possessions. This will allude to the concept of youth culture on an island and give readers a better understanding. I also want to include a variety of media in my book, with photos taken from polaroids, phone and different cameras to show range within my work.
COVER
I want my photobook to be in hardback, with one landscape photo covering both the front cover and blurb. Below are some possible ideas for my cover, taken from my images;
I chose landscape-based images from my cover as they are quite desolate with no background noise and only one main viewpoint, which will help make the title the focus of the cover, which will also be in handwriting to match the aesthetic of my photobook. I am unsure of my title at the moment but i want it to fit the theme of youth culture but be quite simplistic as to not let on too much.
I am researching Jim Goldberg’s 1995 photobook, Raised by Wolves, a 320-page documentation into the lives of teenage drug addicts living on the streets of California. The books story revolves around the lives of protagonists Tweeky Dave and Echo and their friends. Goldbergs portrayal of youth culture through the documentation of Echo and Daves on again, off again relationship and Daves eventual death is tied together through a variety of media and image-making, including polaroids, film, documents and interviews to create a gritty representation of growing up on the streets. Whilst making his images, he would photograph his subjects and ask them what was missing, or what he could do to improve the photo. Considering himself an outsider to the culture and surroundings, Goldberg let his subjects control the narrative, often letting them draw or write over the photographs once they were developed.
Goldberg made Raised by Wolves as part of a trilogy, which began with his first book Rich and Poor and ended with his most recent project, Candy. He created Raised by Wolves to ‘pull the curtain away’ and talk about the issues of neglect and abuse in troubled youth. There is no specific audience for the book, as it immerses the reader in the story to the point they feel connected with the characters, but it could resonate with those who experienced a similar adolescence. Upon release, book was received with praise for the raw and unfiltered portrayal of life on the streets, and has left a considerable impact on pop and photography culture.
Raised by Wolves got further recognition in 2016 when rapper Kanye West was photographed wearing a replica of the jacket once owned by Dave. Among the many awards and grants received by Goldberg for Raised By Wolves are a Guggenheim Fellowship (1985), two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships (1989, 1990), the Mother Jones Documentary Photography Award (1989), and the Ernst Haas Award for Photography Book of the Year (1995). Goldberg uses a range of different textures and paper throughout the book to provide a better narrative. No two pages are the same, the book features images in both black & white and in colour, along with photographs of legal papers, doctor notes and police fines. When focusing on telling a characters story, he will often feature an image and interview with the subject on a double page spread. Goldberg also takes photos from other media to use in his work, e.g a still of Dave from a talk show he featured on, or a kindergarten photo of Echo when discussing her childhood. Photos from different eras and events in their lives help better the viewers understanding and connects them more with the character. The book itself is in a portraiture format, however features both square and landscape images throughout. It is 4 to 11″ – 13″ tall; 320 pages; (305 x 230 mm). The cover features a silhouette of a girl, with a red background. ‘Raised by Wolves’ is scrawled over the top, written in the same messy handwriting featured throughout the book. The title is taken from a extract of the book, where one of Goldberg’s subjects write ‘Born a wicked child, raised by wolves.’
Dating all the way back to the 1830’s with photographs from the Civil War, realism in the visual arts is defined as an accurate depiction of lifeforms. Images were unedited to give a direct viewpoint what was happening in that moment in time. Documentary, street and cultural photography later stemmed from realism where photographers capture community through an outsider vs. insider perspective.
Walker Evans
Realism photography characteristics: Images depict a straight-on realistic representation of the world, in particular different cultures and communities.
Photographers like Paul Strand and Walker Evans essentially paved the way for straight photography capturing working class American citizens in a way that revolutionized photography and changed the way we view images today.
MODERNISM
Modern photography is a period in photography that marked the shift from traditional pictorialist photography to a more direct way of capturing photos, exploiting, and emphasizing the use of and nature of the camera instead of using it as a tool to capture images.
Modern photography characteristics: Images emphasized sharp focus and detail. These photographs were noted for their precision and geometric simplicity which were the result fo a focus on photography as a technical exercise and the photographer as a technician.
The most well-known discourse of photographic modernism now is the one initiated in the USA by Alfred Stieglitz. Developed around his New York based journal Camera Work between 1903 and 1917, this version is characterized by the “straight” photograph.
POST-MODERNISM
Postmodern photography began in the second half of the 20th century, and it encompasses a variety of themes. First and foremost, postmodernism builds on the themes and conceptual ideas that began during the modernist period. This type of photography also often features surrealism, expressionism or other similar themes
Post-modernism photography characteristics: Postmodern art questions the notion of authenticity and embraces ‘hybridity’, blurring the lines between high art and popular culture. Postmodern photographers are particularly interested in the selective, constructed nature of the photograph.
One of the defining features of Postmodern photography is the idea of the “banal”, and photographers such as Lee Friedlander, William Eggleston, Jeff Wall, and Andreas Gursky have all sought to re-examine “banal” (or “boring”) subject matter through their camera.
How do Jim Goldberg and Ryan McGinley explore the representation 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.
On his career: I began capturing images round the end of ’98. At that point, I’d gotten a boyfriend. I started photographing him a lot and then my group of friends, outside of art school. People I had close relationships with or met: skaters, graffiti writers, gay people. I was recreating a family. I come from this big family, but it’s like I got the opportunity to create this new one that I just love so much. I started photographing them on a daily basis.
Ryan McGinley is an American photographer living in New York City. McGinley began taking photographs in 1998 at age 20, creating his first photobook ‘The Kids were Alright’ a collection of 1600 shots made between 1998 and 2003, taken mainly of himself and his friends. Using a Yashica T4s and a film Leica R8s, McGinley captured what is inherent in abandonment, sex, use of drugs and parties in New York amongst youth. His subjects are young and adolescent who embody a sense of freedom from the “wild” attitude. McGinley’s work is cinematic and has been influenced by Terrence Malick’s film, Days of Heaven and has rewritten the imagery of advertising campaigns for brands such as Levi’s and Wrangler. Reoccuring themes in McGinleys work are hedonism and liberation, the life that is celebrated in its intensity, where even the scenes of sex and drugs are immortalized without censorship and prejudice and describe a youth in an underground environment without rules.
Image taken from his collection ‘The Kids were Alright’
McGinley spent the majority of his time around his subjects, particularly graffiti artists, between 1998-2003. Whilst working on his collection, he would follow them to places such as subway tunnels, roofs, bridges and underpasses to give an accurate day-to-day life account of youth growing up in New York, capturing the hedonistic and reckless lifestyle they lived. Later on in his career, after the release of The Kids were Alright, McGinley’s photographing style wou;ld take a different route as he began to recruit models and photograph his subjects in nature such as in forests or sea, capturing his images with an ethereal, almost dreamlike style. His photobook titled ‘Way Far’ represents this in a collection of images taken at dawn in wide, open spaces captured with colourful, vibrant lighting and subjects that embody the same freedom and atmosphere as in The Kids were Alright.
Image taken from his collection ‘Way Far’
McGinley’s work inspires me because much like Jim Goldberg, he portrays youth culture through a collection of stills yet his images have so much movement and narrative behind them that you feel personally connected with the subjects in his photographs. Unlike Goldberg, whose images are for the most part candid, McGinley makes his subjects pose but there is an element of freedom behind it, he controls the camera but ultimately his subjects control the outcome and express emotion through a variety of headshots, close ups and images combining the elements of human and nature which i feel makes a photo more special and interesting to look at. I am also inspired by his use of lighting and viewpoint in his work e.g the image above.
IMAGE ANALYSIS
This image is taken from McGinley’s 2004 photobook, Whistle for the Wind and features his friend, Dakota, drinking out of a cup in a moving car. The wind is blowing her hair forward as she leans over her drink. The colours in this photo are vibrant, much like the others in this collection – the natural lighting rests primarily on her face and body, gradually becoming shadows as the image progresses. The landscape in the background is blurred from use of a low shutter speed, and the subject is positioned directly in the middle of the image, therefore setting her as the viewpoint and focus for the photo. I think this image represents the freedom and liberation McGinley aims to convey in his work, as the image has a main focus and doesn’t feature any surroundings that draw your eye. The focus is on Dakota and her freedom within the moment.
