Ryan McGinley: I Know Where the Summer Goes

imageQuestion Mark, 2007-08 © Ryan McGinleyRyan McGinley’s latest work, from a series titled I Know Where the Summer Goes (after a Belle & Sebastian b-side), proves to be be another set of pretty, youthful images for fans to enjoy. The new work will be on display from April 3rd to May 3rd at Team Gallery in New York. From the press release:

Ryan McGinley’s “snapshots” have been evolving steadily since his guerilla show at 420 West Broadway in 2000. In the intervening eight years he has moved away from an artistic practice that was the soul of casual and towards an elaborated production schedule that raises the ante on “being there.” McGinley has gone from being perceived as the hottest young photographer in town to being considered a serious artist with a rare gift for creating enduring color photographs — photographs that show us the best of youth. The inspirational images for the project were culled from the kinds of amateur photography that appeared in nudist magazines during the 60s and early 70s. McGinley would sit with his models and look through all of the ephemera of the period that he had collected, discussing with them the mood that he was hoping to capture that day. McGinley had chosen a very specific itinerary that would bring his troop through the incredible range of landscapes that are available across the US and carefully planned a battery of activities, sometimes orchestrating the use of special effects. He has always been quite fond of fireworks and fog machines and in this new work they play a major role.
Those of you following this blog know that I’m a bit torn about his photographs in general, but I’ve always loved what particular images seem to suggest about the body and its relationship to nature. imageFireworks Hysteric, 2007-08 © Ryan McGinleyimageRunning Field, 2007 © Ryan McGinleyimageDusk Flip Smoke Strip, 2007 © Ryan McGinley If you’re in New York, you may want to drop by for the opening at Team, tomorrow night at 6pm. See more here from I Know Where the Summer Goes here.