W. S. Burroughs at rest in the side-yard of his house…, 1991, gelatin silver print,
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A new exhibition of the photographs of Allen Ginsberg opened this week at the National Gallery of Art. The exhibit, titled Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg, features 79 black-and-white portraits. Most were donated to the National Gallery by Gary S. Davis who acquired, via the poet’s estate, one print of every photograph in Ginsberg’s possession at the time of his death. Most of the usual suspects of the Beat Generation are represented.
The exhibition is divided into two sections. The first covers the early 50’s, when Ginsberg first picked up a camera, through 1963 when he gave up on photography. The second section begins in 1983 when Ginsberg picked up a camera again; it was during this time that he added descriptions beneath each image.
Jack Kerouac. Gelatin silver print, 1953
Text under photo:
Jack Kerouac wandering along East 7th street after visiting Burroughs at our pad, passing statue of Congressman Samuel “Sunset” Cot, “The Letter – Carrier’s Friend” in Tompkins Square toward corner of Avenue A, Lower East Side; he’s making a Dostoyevsky mad-face or Russian basso be-bop Om, first walking around the neighborhood, then involved with The Subterraneans, pencils & notebook in wool shirt-pockets, Fall 1953, Manhattan.”
The exhibit runs through September 6, 2010.
Coverage at Art Daily