America in Black and White: The Photographs of John G. Zimmerman
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© John G. Zimmerman Archive for photos
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John G. Zimmerman (1927-2002) was a man of many faces: a technical innovator who knew no limits (nor wanted to know any), a ‘Mad Man’ who produced whimsical ads and commercials, a documentary maker who for decades travelled the world shooting exclusive stories for magazines such as Life, Time, Sports Illustrated and Paris Match, a visual artist who produced carefully balanced tableaux vivants.
What makes Zimmerman so extraordinarily fascinating is that for him all this was not excessive multitasking, no, he was just doing his job. For Zimmerman, being a photographer was not in the first place about artistry, it was a way of living. -Arne De Winde |
America in Black and White presents the evocative early work of John G. Zimmerman, an icon of American photography. The exhibition includes many never-before-seen photos and showcases both Zimmerman’s diversity and visual ingenuity. Zimmerman’s pictures cover a remarkable range of subjects, from sports, fashion, arts and architecture to politics and the Jim Crow South. Many of the images in the exhibition were originally shot by for Life and Ebony in pre Civil Rights America. They resonate today as racial and gender inequality and the divide between urban and rural life continue to pose challenges for the country.
Photographing stories for mainstream magazines as well as innovative commercial ads, Zimmerman could do it all and he did – always pushing the boundaries of the photographic medium. The photographs in this exhibition present an enduring image of the United States from the 1950’s to the 1970’s.
Zimmerman’s photography peels the glossy paint from the surface to expose, however subtly, the radical elements from which the American spirit is derived: violence, racism, manifest destiny, the anxiety of the other, the anxiety of the black and brown body, provincialism, the deep desire for dignity, the deep American desire for glory at any cost. But above all escapism, which is, arguably, the predominant trope and luxury of the Enlightenment that we inherited from Western Europe. -Daniel Peña
The companion publication America in Black and White is available for purchase on amazon
Number of photographs: 60
Frame sizes: 16x20 and 20 x 24 inches
Rental fee: $5000 for 8 weeks
Photographing stories for mainstream magazines as well as innovative commercial ads, Zimmerman could do it all and he did – always pushing the boundaries of the photographic medium. The photographs in this exhibition present an enduring image of the United States from the 1950’s to the 1970’s.
Zimmerman’s photography peels the glossy paint from the surface to expose, however subtly, the radical elements from which the American spirit is derived: violence, racism, manifest destiny, the anxiety of the other, the anxiety of the black and brown body, provincialism, the deep desire for dignity, the deep American desire for glory at any cost. But above all escapism, which is, arguably, the predominant trope and luxury of the Enlightenment that we inherited from Western Europe. -Daniel Peña
The companion publication America in Black and White is available for purchase on amazon
Number of photographs: 60
Frame sizes: 16x20 and 20 x 24 inches
Rental fee: $5000 for 8 weeks