SCOTT SPEH GALLERY
Gallery
Address:
845 W Washington Blvd.
2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60607
USA
312.480.8390
send
email
( scott at westernexhibitions dot com)
Gallery
hours:
Wednesdays thru Saturdays
11am to 6pm
artist books,
editions and more
May 20 to July 2, 2011
BAND OF BIKERS
Organized by Scott Zieher | Press: New City
Individual Images:
5 x 5 polaroids | 3 x 3 polaroids: Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 | Group 4
Installation view in Gallery 2
Installation view in Gallery 2In the basement of an apartment building in Manhattan, Scott Zieher, poet and co-owner of ZieherSmith Gallery, discovered a pile of photographs among the discarded effects of a recently deceased tenant. Exhibited for the first time at ZieherSmith in March 2010 and presented in a new publication of the same name from powerHouse Books, these photographs from circa 1972 offer an intimate portrait of a group of gay bikers in the city and the woods, and a touching snapshot of a historical subculture at its carefree zenith.
The photographs bring into focus a brief, specific period of relative innocence, when middle-of-the-road Americans more often than not failed to perceive the homoerotic undertones of their most heterosexual of institutions. With conceptual light cast by issues ranging from anonymity in homosexuality and underground motorcycle chic to vernacular photography’s pop-culture ramifications, a warm and generous spirit of camaraderie pervades this subterranean survey. Like a real-world set for Scorpio Rising casually captured by an unpretentious extra, this found cache of old-school, leather party snapshots attains archeological significance.
A selection of the original individual photographs, as well as the book, will be available throughout the exhibition. The powerHouse publication also includes an essay by Scott Zieher.
Articles from the March 2010 show:Interview
Selectism
The Last Magazine
Amazon
Leaves of Glass
Hell for Leather
The Port Authority and Co.
The Morning News
Leatherati
Homo-Neurotic
ALL IMAGES © WESTERN EXHIBITIONS & EACH INDIVIDUAL ARTIST