Hofstra University Museum of Art: Other People's Parties

August 13, 2019-March 13, 2020 David Filderman Gallery

HOFSTR A UNIVERSIT Y MUSEUM OF ART

August 13, 2019-March 13, 2020 David Filderman Gallery

Cover image: Larry Fink (American, born 1941), False Men and their Makers, Studio 54, N.Y.C. – May, 1977, from the portfolio Social Context, 1977 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper, 14 1/4 x 14 1/2 in., Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball, HU92.68.14 © 2019 Larry Fink

This exhibition is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Parties, celebrations, get-togethers, galas, hang-outs; from casual to formal, and everything in between, social gatherings are an integral part of human existence. Just as human is the desire to preserve these moments and share them with others. The advent of photography in the 19th century expanded and democratized the ability to record and archive time and space. Flash forward to the development of digital photography, coupled with the ubiquity of camera-equipped cell phones, and all parts of life can be recorded and shared. But even in this image-saturated time, a special importance is given to pictures of parties. Special perhaps because of the occasion, special perhaps because of the guests in attendance, or maybe just for the memory evoked of a passing glance across a crowded dance floor.

Curator’s Statement

In these photographs of other people, artists such as Larry Fink, Andy Warhol, and Danny Lyon invite viewers into special occasions with ease. Although the subjects are generally unknown or unremarkable people, we immediately recognize and connect to the universal moments through the skillful choices of these artists.

Other artists, such as Mary Ellen Mark, Joseph Szabo, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, however, highlight the otherness of these events.

The extreme poses by Mark, the darkness of Szabo, and the honorific setting of Cartier-Bresson, all work to distance and unsettle the viewer.

The simultaneous attraction and repulsion we might feel from these images mirrors our modern world of infinite scrolling through other people’s pictures. The constant bombardment of images of other people’s parties can highlight our isolation, or increase our fear of missing out or jealousy, while also inspiring us to remember the important moments of our own lives. The photographs in this exhibition, although predating social media, encapsulate our contemporary obsession with seeing and being seen, and the constructed realities we create of our lives within our devices.

Kristen Rudy Collections Manager

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Let’s Celebrate Humans have an innate desire to record their lives. From the cave paintings of our Neanderthal relatives, to the commissioned portraits of Renaissance noble families, to the family photo album, we have always felt compelled to use images to prove our existence. Events that are integral in defining our lives, such as weddings, birthdays, holidays, and religious occasions, as well as national moments of change, are key to preserving our memories. But not only do these images preserve memories, they often and quite counter-intuitively reflect the constructed or false realities we aim to present to others.

Mary Ellen Mark (American, 1940-2015) Quinceannera, Miami 1986 From the portfolio In America, 1986 Gelatin silver print 10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU93.17.7

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A Party To ...

Parties are not always frivolous – in fact, serious business can take place in a party setting. State dinners, benefit galas, fraternal lodges, and even biker meetings can be the backdrop to many major decisions. Access to these places, people, and events, however, can often be restrictive, and indicative of larger issues of representation. The majority of the photographs in this section are from the 1970s and 1980s and reflect the gender and racial disparity intrinsic to the exclusive events and settings of the images, while reflecting the privilege of white male photographers at that time.

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Jann Wenner and Francois de Menil, undated Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. HU2008.2.119 © The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc.

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Party Moves The body language of parties can be incredibly telling.

People’s defenses are down, inhibitions are often hindered or abandoned, and for some, anxiety is heightened. Larry Fink, for example, emphasizing strong diagonal lines and using extreme lights and darks, skillfully frames a benign spilled wine glass and a crossed leg in a way that intensifies the anxiety of the scene. Fink uses these same formal techniques to capture unseen glances when photographing the dance floor of Studio 54. In these images, a quiet hand around the waist or neck, or a sideways glance, brings with it a charged reminder of social hierarchies.

Larry Fink (American, born 1941) Black Hand – Checkered Rump, N.Y.C. – May, 1985 From the portfolio Social Context, 1985 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 12 3/8 x 18 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.1

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Exhibition Checklist Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908-2004)

Larry Fink (American, born 1941)

President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Charles de Gaulle Greeting Guests, c. 1959-1961 Vintage gelatin silver print 9 7/8 x 6 5/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George and Alexandra Stephanopoulos HU2012.57

Benefit, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1975 Vintage gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Peter and Susan Chatzky HU2016.66

Harold Feinstein (American, 1931-2015) Man and Wife Drinking Beer, from the portfolio Photographer’s Choice: Harold Feinstein – Decades Four, 1950 Gelatin silver print 9 3/8 x 6 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU91.206.3 Teenagers on Beach with Radio, from the portfolio Photographer’s Choice: Harold Feinstein – Decades Four, 1949 Gelatin silver print 7 1/4 x 10 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU91.206.4

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Black Hand – Checkered Rump, N.Y.C. – May, 1985, from the portfolio Social Context, 1985 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 12 3/8 x 18 3/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.1 Dance, American Legion, Bangor, PA, March 1979, 1979 Vintage gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Peter and Susan Chatzky HU2016.71 False Men and their Makers, Studio 54, N.Y.C. – May, 1977, from the portfolio Social Context, 1977 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/4 x 14 1/2 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.14 Glass Over Face – France – July, 1988, from the portfolio Social Context, 1988 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/4 x 14 1/2 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.12

Lexington, Kentucky – Deals and Blonde – July, 1987, from the portfolio Social Context, 1987 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/4 x 14 5/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.7

Trixies, N.Y.C. – Woman Dancing for Small Crowd – May, 1990, from the portfolio Social Context, 1990 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/4 x 14 1/2 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.9

New Year’s Eve Party, American Legion, Bangor, PA, 1979 Vintage gelatin silver print 11 3/4 x 17 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George and Alexandra Stephanopoulos HU2012.60

Wedding – Long Central Neck, N.Y.C. – Dec. 1988, from the portfolio Social Context, 1988 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/2 x 14 5/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.4

Oslin Family, Martins Creek, PA, April 1977, 1977 Vintage gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Peter and Susan Chatzky HU2016.67 Pat Sabatine’s Eleventh Birthday Party, 1980 Vintage gelatin silver print 17 1/8 x 11 7/8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George and Alexandra Stephanopoulos HU2012.59 Spilled Glass and Legs, N.Y.C. – April, 1985, from the portfolio Social Context, 1985 Gelatin silver print on Fortezo paper 14 1/8 x 17 3/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU92.68.11

Leonard Freed (American, 1929-2006) Men kissing during gay liberation week, NYC, 1970 Vintage gelatin silver print 8 x 10 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Peter and Susan Chatzky HU2016.73 Danny Lyon (American, born 1942) Andy, Meeting at the Stoplight, Cicero, Illinois, 1965 Vintage gelatin silver print 14 x 11 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George Stephanopoulos HU2009.7.17

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Exhibition Checklist continued Ronnie and Cheri, La Porte, Indiana, 1962 Vintage gelatin silver print 11 x 14 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George Stephanopoulos HU2010.5.2 Seventeenth Annual World’s Largest Motorcycle Blessing, St. Christopher’s Shrine, Midlothian, Illinois, 1965 Vintage gelatin silver print 11 x 14 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of George Stephanopoulos HU2009.7.14 Mary Ellen Mark (American, 1940-2015) Quinceannera, Miami 1986, from the portfolio In America, 1986 Gelatin silver print 10 1/4 x 10 1/4 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Susan and Steven Ball HU93.17.7 Joseph Szabo (American, born 1944) Night Owls, 1971 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the artist HU2013.8

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Leo Touchet (American, born 1939) Anderson Minor (Grand Marshal) Leading Procession from Church at George Lewis’ Jazz Funeral, 1969 (printed 1993) Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of Ulric Haynes Jr. HU99.2

HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY STUART RABINOWITZ

President Andrew M. Boas and Mark L. Claster Distinguished Professor of Law

HERMAN A. BERLINER

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART KAREN T. ALBERT Acting Director and Chief Curator

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987) Delilah Loud, Two Unidentified Women and Three Unidentified Men, undated Gelatin silver print 8 x 10 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. HU2008.2.129 Fred Hughes and Two Unidentified Men, undated Gelatin silver print 8 x 10 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. HU2008.2.126 Jann Wenner and Francois de Menil, undated Gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 in.

Hofstra University Museum of Art Gift of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. HU2008.2.119

ELISA BRUNO Museum Educator ELIZABETH DYSART Director of Education and Engagement KYLIE MCGINNIS Museum Educator KRISTEN RUDY Collections Manager AMY G. SOLOMON Museum Educator CHARMISE WOODSIDE-DESIRÉ Communications Director GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIP Cassandra Oswald GRADUATE ASSISTANTS Erin Doyle Courtney Magnusson Elizabeth Smith UNDERGRADUATE ASSISTANTS Hayley Combs, Marisa Cornog, Sky Dellasala, Jacob Ferrandi, Jonathan Fidis, Shaina Martin, Eiryn Sheades