Collection of the University Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA. Gift of Ronald Lesser. © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
1984.6.7
Beverly Hills, California 1980
1980 (Date created)
Gelatin silver print
14 in W
x
11.125 in H
(Paper)
American
At first glance, Garry Winogrand’s Beverly Hills, California 1980 appears to be a candid, black and white film still from a street scene. Its protagonists are located in the center of the image, and a sort of initmacy is suggested between the two as the individual on the left wraps her arm around the person on the right. The figure on the left is wearing a deep, v-cut shirt, high-waisted pants, and a long, dramatic scarf while the figure on the right sports a light, flowy dress and a jacket.
These central characters, like the other individuals in the phograph, are people whose stories we may never know, like extras in a film. Each person is in motion and oblivious to the eye of the camera, some figures even appear mid-sentence or smoking a cigarette. Each figure produces long, dramatic shadows that emphasize the angled ground plane. Based on these shadows, viewers can conclude that the sun is low in the sky: perhaps it is early in the morning or late in the evening. As we dig deeper into Winogrand’s photography, it is evident that many of his works present candid perspectives of lively street scenes.[1]
This work is one of fifteen prints in the portfolio titled Women are better than men. Not only have they survived, they do prevail. Many of the photographs included in this project deptict women in cities across the United States who are often entirely unaware of Winogrand or his camera. In Winogrand’s work, the male gaze can seem omnipotent in the cool objectification of all that it sees. However, the title of this specific portfolio and titles of other past projects suggest that he does not intend to objectify the women represented in his work.[2]Instead, Winogrand uses his titles to project his awareness of the problematic nature of the images he captures. In this regard, it is significant that his portfolio titled Women Are Beautiful was originally going to be titled Observations of a Male Chauvinist Pig.[3]
Winogrand himself kept his craft very private. At the age of 56 he was told he only had weeks left in his life after being diagnosed with cancer, and because of this he left many works scattered or unfinished.[4] Frank Van Viper writes that, “at his death, Winogrand left behind 2500 undeveloped rolls of 36-exposure 35mm film, 6500 rolls of film that had been developed but not contact-printed, not to mention 300 apparently untouched, unedited 35mm contact sheets.” [5]
Need to rewrite this paragraph. Winogrand did not produce diaries or any sort of autobiographical record to inform art historical readings of his work, but evidence suggests that his contemporaries were sensitive to the central position of gender in his work. Upon meeting Winogrand, photographer Harry Callahan recognized him as the artist “who photographs [his] wife’s tits on the grass!”[6] With this quote we may return to Beverly Hills, California 1980 with a new perspective, suggesting that the male gaze may be more apparent than we had originally thought. Although this image does not include such explicitly sexualized imagery, it confirms the gendered power dynamics of Winogrand’s photographic practice.
[1] “University Art Gallery: Beverly Hills, California 1980,” University of Pittsburgh, https://uag.pitt.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/8060
[2] Roy Arden, “Garry Winogrand/Larry Clark,” Monte Clark Gallery, 2015, http://www.monteclarkgallery.com/exhibition/garry-winogrand-larry-clark/
[3] Roy Arden, “Garry Winogrand/Larry Clark,” Monte Clark Gallery, 2015, http://www.monteclarkgallery.com/exhibition/garry-winogrand-larry-clark/;
“Garry Winogrand: Untitled from Women Are Beautiful,” Museum of Modern Art, 1969, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/111095?artist_id=6399&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist
[4] Leo Rubinfien, Erin O’Toole, Sarah Greenough, Garry Winogrand (New Haven and London: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with Yale University Press) 9.
[5] Frank Van Viper, “Garry Winogrand: Huge Influence, Early Exit,” The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/030131.htm
[6] Leo Rubinfien, Garry Winogrand (New Haven and London: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with Yale University Press) 13.
Author: Erica Conner - Spring 2018
These central characters, like the other individuals in the phograph, are people whose stories we may never know, like extras in a film. Each person is in motion and oblivious to the eye of the camera, some figures even appear mid-sentence or smoking a cigarette. Each figure produces long, dramatic shadows that emphasize the angled ground plane. Based on these shadows, viewers can conclude that the sun is low in the sky: perhaps it is early in the morning or late in the evening. As we dig deeper into Winogrand’s photography, it is evident that many of his works present candid perspectives of lively street scenes.[1]
This work is one of fifteen prints in the portfolio titled Women are better than men. Not only have they survived, they do prevail. Many of the photographs included in this project deptict women in cities across the United States who are often entirely unaware of Winogrand or his camera. In Winogrand’s work, the male gaze can seem omnipotent in the cool objectification of all that it sees. However, the title of this specific portfolio and titles of other past projects suggest that he does not intend to objectify the women represented in his work.[2]Instead, Winogrand uses his titles to project his awareness of the problematic nature of the images he captures. In this regard, it is significant that his portfolio titled Women Are Beautiful was originally going to be titled Observations of a Male Chauvinist Pig.[3]
Winogrand himself kept his craft very private. At the age of 56 he was told he only had weeks left in his life after being diagnosed with cancer, and because of this he left many works scattered or unfinished.[4] Frank Van Viper writes that, “at his death, Winogrand left behind 2500 undeveloped rolls of 36-exposure 35mm film, 6500 rolls of film that had been developed but not contact-printed, not to mention 300 apparently untouched, unedited 35mm contact sheets.” [5]
Need to rewrite this paragraph. Winogrand did not produce diaries or any sort of autobiographical record to inform art historical readings of his work, but evidence suggests that his contemporaries were sensitive to the central position of gender in his work. Upon meeting Winogrand, photographer Harry Callahan recognized him as the artist “who photographs [his] wife’s tits on the grass!”[6] With this quote we may return to Beverly Hills, California 1980 with a new perspective, suggesting that the male gaze may be more apparent than we had originally thought. Although this image does not include such explicitly sexualized imagery, it confirms the gendered power dynamics of Winogrand’s photographic practice.
[1] “University Art Gallery: Beverly Hills, California 1980,” University of Pittsburgh, https://uag.pitt.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/8060
[2] Roy Arden, “Garry Winogrand/Larry Clark,” Monte Clark Gallery, 2015, http://www.monteclarkgallery.com/exhibition/garry-winogrand-larry-clark/
[3] Roy Arden, “Garry Winogrand/Larry Clark,” Monte Clark Gallery, 2015, http://www.monteclarkgallery.com/exhibition/garry-winogrand-larry-clark/;
“Garry Winogrand: Untitled from Women Are Beautiful,” Museum of Modern Art, 1969, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/111095?artist_id=6399&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist
[4] Leo Rubinfien, Erin O’Toole, Sarah Greenough, Garry Winogrand (New Haven and London: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with Yale University Press) 9.
[5] Frank Van Viper, “Garry Winogrand: Huge Influence, Early Exit,” The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/030131.htm
[6] Leo Rubinfien, Garry Winogrand (New Haven and London: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art with Yale University Press) 13.
Author: Erica Conner - Spring 2018
Garry Winogrand
Beverly Hills, California 1980, 1980-82
Gelatin silver print
1984.6.7
Gift of Ronald Lesser
Usually taken without permission, Winogrand’s street photographs reinforce the power of the male gaze. This work comes from his series Women are better than men. Not only have they survived, they do prevail, a title that addresses the gender inequalities present in his practice. (This is Not Ideal, Fall 2018)
In Collection
Gift of Ronald Lesser
Published by DEP editions Inc., New York
This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and their Transformation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh University Art Gallery. 2018. Exhibition catalogue.
Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018.
University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260
ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and their Transformation. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh University Art Gallery. 2018. Exhibition catalogue.
Published on the occasion of the student-curated exhibition This is not Ideal: Gender Myths and Their Transformation at the University Art Gallery, University of Pittsburgh, October 26-December 7, 2018.
University Art Gallery. Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260
ISBN: 978-1-7329013-0-8
Please note that cataloging is ongoing and that some information may not be complete.