Diane Arbus: 10 Years
Masterworks from the 1960s and 70s
Diane Arbus in the Automat at Sixth Avenue between 41st & 42nd Street, New York City, c. 1968
Photograph by Roz Kelly
“The mistake is to think people are solid and absolute. They are just instruments of life and it flows through them to the point where their edges are invisible.”
– Diane Arbus
One of the most beguiling and beloved of contemporary photographers, during an intense period from 1961-71 Diane Arbus produced some of the most memorable photographs of the twentieth-century. This small exhibition celebrates her legacy through twenty-eight celebrated images.
With her incomparable eye for detail, Arbus had an uncanny ability to express empathy and compassion for her sitters, while at the same time questioning social norms. Her photographs of circus performers, naturists, and people from various walks of life photographed in their own living rooms explore questions of personal happiness, identity and belonging, with special attention for individuals living on the social fringe. Arbus accepted these people with wonder and appreciation, whether they were ageing aristocratic ladies, or gender non-conforming men.
Diane Arbus: Ten Years includes examples from key series during this famous period of the artist’s work. Among the highlights are a series of five rare portraits of African American and white families taken in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The selection also includes iconic works such as Young Waitress at a Nudist Camp (1963), Patriotic Man with a Flag, N.Y.C. (1967) and Seated Man in Bra and Stockings, N.Y.C. (1967).
The exhibition provides numerous touchstones for interpretation. It engages with issues of self-identity, status and social critique, as well as the marginalization of non-conforming individuals, and people of perceived difference.
Works appear courtesy the Gary Johns collection.
Note: Due to the policies of the Diane Arbus Estate, traditional publicity images are not available for this exhibition.
WORKS
28 framed photographs
DIMENSIONS
(27) 20 x 16 in (51 x 41 cm)
SPACE REQUIREMENTS
80 linear feet (25 linear meters)
INQUIRIES
exhibitions@curatorial.org | 626.577.0044
FEE
Please inquire.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
Susquehanna Art Museum | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
(September 30, 2023 – January 21, 2024)
Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts at Endicott College | Beverly, Massachusetts
(September 23, 2022 – November 11, 2022)
CURATOR BIOGRAPHY
Catlin Langford is a curator, writer and researcher, specialising in photography. She was previously Curator of Photography (2022), and the inaugural Curatorial Fellow in Photography, supported by The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation (2019-2022), at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Catlin has held curatorial and teaching positions at the Royal College of Art (2021), Guildhall School/Barbican (2021), Royal Collection Trust (2017-2019), Witt and Conway Libraries (2015-2016), Courtauld Gallery (2015-2016) and National Trust of South Australia (2012-2013). Her research focuses on women’s photographic practice, colour photography and vernacular forms of photography, including snapshots, and the intersections between these.
