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Ari Marcopoulos: Within Arm's Reach
Born in Amsterdam in 1957, Ari Marcopoulos came to New York in 1979 and quickly became part of a downtown art scene that included Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Robert Mapplethorpe. Since then, Marcopoulos has become recognized as a leading documentarian of contemporary culture, having chronicled the emerging hip hop scene, shot snowboarders in action and revealed the vicissitudes of his family life. Marcopoulos always appears to have forged a strong connection with the people he photographs, whether celebrated figures-from Andy Warhol to Kiki Smith, John Cage to LL Cool J-or more obscure personalities, so that he captures, without sentimentality or voyeurism, the intimate sensation of their daily lives. His images are particular to a time and place, but reach out to us via familiar themes such as family and the longing for adventure. The first retrospective on Marcopoulos, Within Arm's Reach collects work from three decades, and is supplemented with an essay by Stephanie Cannizzo.
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2005
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March 22, 2011
In his quarter century of filmmaking and photography, Ari Marcopoulos has established himself as one of the top global purveyors of underground art. Whether he’s photographing graffiti art from New York to the West Coast, lensing video for the Beastie Boys or exhibiting his work at places ranging from the Whitney to Paris to Japan, this Dutch-born photographer has captured the alternative world from a wide variety of angles.
In “Directory” (so named for its phonebook printing format), Marcopoulos compiles nearly half a decade’s worth of images focusing on street art, graffiti art and skateboard lifestyle. The book, about as thick as a Manhattan phone directory, features 1,200 pages of black and white work – many of which were copied from color originals – printed on conceptually appropriate thin-mil paper (which, among other things, diminishes the contrast and sharpness of the images making them as primitive as much of the art itself.)
While many of the photographs serve to document the world of graffiti art (where no wall, bridge or Econoline van seems to be spared), the book is rounded out by a series of images of casual portraits (notably of several young boys; presumably his sons Cairo and Ethan) and physical objects like guns, album covers (Clash, Stones, MC5) and even a copy of the New York Times. (Marcopoulos, a former Warhol printmaker, learned early on that anything can make a worthy subject of a photograph). There is text by art curator and critic, Neville Wakefield, but it is far too sparse given both the volume and unidentified nature of much of the photography presented here.
Both Marcopoulos’ style and subject matter appeal to a certain kind of audience, which probably explains the limited-edition nature of the project (2,000 copies with a signed print), but whether you are attracted by the photo work or just the concept itself, “Directory” (the photographer’s tenth book) is a raw look at underground art, the likes of which has not been seen on bookshelves in a while now.
In “Directory” (so named for its phonebook printing format), Marcopoulos compiles nearly half a decade’s worth of images focusing on street art, graffiti art and skateboard lifestyle. The book, about as thick as a Manhattan phone directory, features 1,200 pages of black and white work – many of which were copied from color originals – printed on conceptually appropriate thin-mil paper (which, among other things, diminishes the contrast and sharpness of the images making them as primitive as much of the art itself.)
While many of the photographs serve to document the world of graffiti art (where no wall, bridge or Econoline van seems to be spared), the book is rounded out by a series of images of casual portraits (notably of several young boys; presumably his sons Cairo and Ethan) and physical objects like guns, album covers (Clash, Stones, MC5) and even a copy of the New York Times. (Marcopoulos, a former Warhol printmaker, learned early on that anything can make a worthy subject of a photograph). There is text by art curator and critic, Neville Wakefield, but it is far too sparse given both the volume and unidentified nature of much of the photography presented here.
Both Marcopoulos’ style and subject matter appeal to a certain kind of audience, which probably explains the limited-edition nature of the project (2,000 copies with a signed print), but whether you are attracted by the photo work or just the concept itself, “Directory” (the photographer’s tenth book) is a raw look at underground art, the likes of which has not been seen on bookshelves in a while now.
Displaying 1 of 1 review