Akeem FlavorsArtist Research Paper #3Kelly – T.A. (PM)

Ryan McGinley

Many artists strive to create visual representations of events, symbols, and scenes that

accurately reflect their lifestyles - with few of them ever being successful. However, by depicting

himself, close friends, and mere acquaintances skateboarding, running, and moving by day as

well as partying, taking drugs, and having sex by night, Ryan McGinley has easily surpassed this

goal. The innocent yet edgy world captured by McGinley is far from fiction and closer to the

documentation of his reality of being young, beautiful, and killing time in New York City.

McGinley was born and raised in New Jersey until moving to New York to attend Parsons

School of Design to study graphic design. After

an inevitable introduction to the lifestyle of

Manhattan’s artsy lower East Side and three

years at Parsons McGinley became interested in

photography. He explains that “For me the

reason to go out to a party was to

photograph,” (Gefter 2007). This is evident in

the almost voyeuristic style of his early photographs, in which he abandoned all concern for

detail and focused solely on the spirit of his subjects. For example, in Dash Bombing, McGinley

captures a young graffiti artist tagging the wall of a building high above New York City. The lack

of his attention to technicality in handling the camera is far from distracting. Instead, the

viewer’s attention is absorbed by the subject’s concentration on his craft and the energy radiating

from the city lights below. McGinley is simply a fly on the wall in capturing this fleeting

moment of beauty and freedom.

In his earlier work McGinley was solely interested in documenting the experience around

him and sharing it with others; leading him, at the age of 21, to compile all of his photographs

taken thus far, bind them into a book, and ship copies to close friends and artists he admired.

McGinley describes that in the process he had “an assembly line of friends helping me – we

stuck them together with double-sided tape,” (Schuman 2007). The end result, titled The Kids

Dash Bombing, 2000

Are Alright, was sent to magazine editors and celebrated artists such as Larry Clark, Nan Goldin,

Jack Pierson, and Wolfgang Tilmans. Eventually this same book ended up on the desk of Sylvia

Wolff, the curator of photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art (Gefter 2007).

This was how McGinley’s first series evolved from a self-produced, handmade book to a

solo exhibition at the Whitney. McGinley made history with The Kids Are Alright, becoming the

youngest artist ever honored with a solo show at the museum. Wolff believes that McGinley’s

background in graphic design was crucial in his success because of “the attitude of getting your

work out there,” (Gefter 2007). This makes sense in understanding McGinley’s mentality of

gaining as much exposure as possible; any kind of designer is used to the idea of competing for a

job and opportunity. He understood the importance of having his work

presented to the masses and manipulated this idea with photographic art to

his advantage.

In his later work, a significant difference can be seen in his direction after

the Whitney show. The documentary styled approach McGinley once

utilized wasn’t generating the output he desired fast enough. He explained

that “I got to the point where I couldn’t wait for the pictures to happen

anymore. I was wasting time, so I started making pictures

happen,” (Gefter 2007). So in 2003 McGinley rented a house in Vermont

and began the process of inviting friends met at downtown clubs in New

York to spend a week at a time in the country. When placed in the unexpected situations

McGinley created the raw beauty and emotion of humanity and youth is prevalent through his

models.

For example, in preparing for one series of photographs McGinley spent an afternoon

cleaning branches from a tree and that night directed his friends to sit together naked in it (Gefter

2007). While you wouldn’t ever expect a group of friends to decide to scale a tree in the nude,

seeing an image of it actually happening is powerful. The dream-like quality of Tree #3 really

makes an impact in exploring relationships with nature, childhood, and freedom. In viewing most

of McGinley’s work the option of abandoning all responsibility and investing in time spent solely

on fun and self-examination is constantly placed in the back of the viewer’s head.

Tree #3, 2003

Most recently, McGinley’s approach and work have become more directed, yielding a

surprisingly opposite product. He’s spent his last two summers accompanied by a group of

models, friends, and assistants on cross-country road trips as fuel for his photography. Before

embarking, McGinley researches in order to plan the settings in which to place his friends – such

as hidden swimming holes and remote desert locations. The result, I Know Where the Summer

Goes, is said to have been inspired by nudist magazines of the 1960s and 1970s (Pearse 2008).

This is evident in the scandal assumed due to the constant nudity of his subjects. However, after

considering the rest of McGinley’s work the series evolves into nudity without scandal and

instead becomes natural. For example, Highway, a scene depicting a group of friends crossing

the highway in the nude highlights this concept.

The repetition of nudity and a sense of freedom in I Know Where the Summer Goes

inspire the audience to interpret a situation like the one presented in Highway as natural human

behavior. It’s not unnatural or strange for a group of young people to embrace their relationship

with each other and nature in their purest form – instead it’s odd that you and your friends aren’t

doing the same thing.

Highway, 2007

Highway, 2007

Through his imagery McGinley has fostered the ideal lifestyle for anyone attempting to

get away from it all and simply enjoy life. His unintentional goal of inspiring others to embrace

the privilege of youth, beauty, and freedom has been reached. Through his photography

McGinley has uniquely constructed a world he describes as one “that doesn’t exist. A fantasy.

The life I wish I was living,” (Gefter 2007).

Bibliography

Gefter, Philip. "A Young Man with an Eye, and Friends Up a Tree." Art & Design. 6 Mar.

2007. The New York Times. 29 Oct. 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/arts/design/

06geft.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1>.

Pearse, Emma. "Ryan McGinley: I Know Where the Summer Goes." ArtReview. 21 Apr.

2008. 29 Oct. 2008 <http://www.artreview.com/forum/topic/show?id=1474022%3atopic%

3a173331>.

Schuman, Aaron. "Thirty and Dirty: A Conversation with Ryan McGinley." SEESAW

Magazine. 2007. 29 Oct. 2008 <http://seesawmagazine.com/mcginleypages/

mcginleyinterview.html>.