Altamont concert,
December 6, 1969. Μια
σημαντική καταγραφή της πολιτιστικής επανάστασης των '60s, εστιάζοντας στο
περιβόητο φεστιβάλ και τη δράση των Hells Angels.
Ο Bill Owens (γεννημένος το 1938) είναι ένας καταξιωμένος Αμερικανός φωτογράφος, γνωστός κυρίως για την ανθρωπολογική του ματιά στην αμερικανική κουλτούρα της δεκαετίας του 1970. Το έργο του συνδυάζει το ντοκουμέντο με ένα καυστικό, συχνά ειρωνικό χιούμορ, εστιάζοντας στις κοινωνικές αλλαγές και την καθημερινότητα
Λειτουργεί
ως «οπτικός ανθρωπολόγος», δημιουργώντας ένα «φρέσκο» της αμερικανικής
κοινωνίας μέσα από τα σλόγκαν, τις διαδηλώσεις και τις καθημερινές
τελετουργίες.
Το
στυλ του χαρακτηρίζεται από μια εσκεμμένη ηρεμία και διακριτική ομορφιά,
αποφεύγοντας τις τότε κυρίαρχες τάσεις της δραματικής φωτογραφίας.
Bill
Owens came to prominence in the early 1970s. After graduating from
California State University at Chico (1963), he began to pursue
photography while serving in the Peace Corps (1964-66). Later, when
working as a newspaper photographer for the Independent News in
Livermore, California (1968-78), a small city 33 miles east of San
Francisco, Owens was assigned the daily beat of the suburban
activities of his friends and neighbors.
Owens' first book Suburbia (Straight Arrow Books, 1972) was a fascinating catalog of many of the individuals that the artist met while his camera was trained on the various yard sales, PTA meetings, church socials, and other social phenomena of his neighborhood. In Suburbia, the artist paired photographs of these plain folks with short, descriptive statements in their own words or paraphrased from interviews. The photographs have a compelling presence by themselves, but the combination of word and image runs the gamut from amusing humor to touching pathos.
Owens' first book Suburbia (Straight Arrow Books, 1972) was a fascinating catalog of many of the individuals that the artist met while his camera was trained on the various yard sales, PTA meetings, church socials, and other social phenomena of his neighborhood. In Suburbia, the artist paired photographs of these plain folks with short, descriptive statements in their own words or paraphrased from interviews. The photographs have a compelling presence by themselves, but the combination of word and image runs the gamut from amusing humor to touching pathos.
