Double Elephant / Rodeo Drive is the second chapter of the exhibition Sculpting Reality. The documentary style in the Per Amor a l’Art Collection. This exhibition presents two key photographic series from the Per Amor a l’Art Collection wich trace a journey through the history of photography revolving around the concept of documentary.
The series Double Elephant Portfolio – Selected Photographs, reveals the beginnings of the documentary genre in photography and the creation of a style that began in the 1930s. Between 1973 and 1974, Lee Friedlander and Burt Wolf selected fifteen photographs by four autors who had published in Double Elephant Press: Walker Evans, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Garry Winogrand and Friedlander himself. The authors of the portfolio display the beginnings of this documentary style and the influence that authors such as Evans came to exert on it, but also the need of some photographers (as in the case of Winogrand) to experiment with this language. In addition, the exhibition is accompanied by works by Friedlander (popularly known as The Little Screens) and Winogrand (the series 15 Big Shots) in order to broaden the vision of these authors with works also belonging to the Per Amor a l’Art Collection.
The Rodeo Drive series (1984) by Anthony Hernandez appears in this exhibition as an example of the entry of colour into this genre in the 1960s. In this body of work of 41 photographs, Hernandez portrays the subjects strolling along the Beverly Hills commercial corridor: he evidences of the complexity of urban spaces, economic disparity and racial division. As stated by Lewis Baltz: these are the victors… enjoying the spoils of their victory on Rodeo Drive.
Image 1: Anthony Hernandez. From the series Rodeo Drive, 1984 © Anthony Hernandez, courtesy Galerie Thomas Zander, Cologne
Image 2: Garry Winogrand. World’s Fair. New York City, New York, from the series Double Elephant Portfolio, 1974 © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Image 3: Garry Winogrand. Texas State Fair. Dallas, Texas, from the series Double Elephant Portfolio, 1964 © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
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