"What Duvet Said...": Someday We'll Look Back And Laugh At How We Fought The Power: The Photography of Glen E. Friedman...

Friday

Someday We'll Look Back And Laugh At How We Fought The Power: The Photography of Glen E. Friedman...

Fight the power...Photo by Glen E. Friedman

The man behind the lens...

What makes an image iconic? In the world of Rock and Roll photography it might boil down to three key factors: Access, timing, and subject. With so many people carrying cell phones and digital cameras, it seems everyone fancies themself a Jim Marshall or Mick Rock. Still, I am hard-pressed to name a rock and roll photographer or an image today as iconic as the ones captured by the great photo-journalists of yesteryear. Perhaps, because we are flooded with so many disposable images the craft is being undermined by the technology? One legendary generator of rock and roll iconography is Glen E. Friedman. His touring photography exhibit "Fuck You All" , also featuring collaborative works with artist Shepard Fairey, opens tomorrow at San Francisco's 941 Gallery. Friedman was the early chronicler of the burgeoning Southern California skate scenes (think Tony Alva and the Z-Boys), hardcore punk rock (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Minor Threat), and early hip-hop (LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, and Public Enemy). His stark black and white photos were my first exposure to the above worlds. In punk rock Friedman along with the visual art of Raymond Pettibon helped to define a punk rock aesthetic that is still followed today. He was able to corral the aggression, passion and volatility of his subjects. His is a style that is often mimicked but seldom attained. Oh, and it required hours spent inside the developing room! It should be interesting to see his work interpreted by Fairey, who himself is responsible for some modern day iconography. There will be over fifty photographs, some never before seen, on display starting on Saturday November 6th (opening reception from 6-9pm) and running through December 31st.