Over the long weekend I had the opportunity to visit New York City for the second time in my life. While there I opted to spend most of my time indoors, due to a horrendous downpour that decided to dampen my day.
Of all the things I did and the places I visited, the most worthy of note was a new exhibit at Rare Galleries in Greenwich Village, featuring works by photographer Anthony Goicolea.
I’ve been somewhat of a fan of Goicolea’s for the past year or so, when I first discovered an article about him and his work in a magazine.
Upon seeing one of Goicolea’s shots, I’m sure you’ll look twice. Goicolea works with multiple imaging photography, in which he uses repeated images or characters in a single shot. Most of his previous works include pictures of himself dressed as different characters put into bizarre and sometimes morbid situations.
What is so striking about these images is that Goicolea has a very boyish look, perfectly portraying adolescence and that which is puberty.
In contrast to the aesthetic beauty, if you will, of youth, Goicolea employs controversy and social mores to set the mood. Homosexuality, death, rebellion, and cannibalism are just a few of those issues which Goicolea throws at the viewer.
This new exhibit seemed to be moving away from previous work and focusing more on Goicolea’s new series, entitled “Land,” which opened Saturday, October 12, 2002.
Curtis McPhee, the head of arts relations at Rare Gallery, explained that the “photographs are a departure for Anthony, in the fact that he isn’t in any of them. They still have elements of repetition, but they include animals and man-made structures.”
The shock value that was present in Goicolea’s previous work though is still found in some of his new photos. Deer wounded in battle, in another image three deer taking part in a deer orgy, birds using a half-pipe, and trees strewn with toilet paper.
Other shots, which focus more on landscapes, include steps carved into a glacier, a series of wooden stairs leading up a cliff, and various pictures of trees and forestscapes.
Seeing Goicolea’s new series was absolutely breathtaking; the vivid color of the photographs against the gallery’s white walls drew you into the artwork. I was shocked at the actual size of the prints, some of them measuring more than six feet in length, I had to control myself to not drool on the floor. That was hard.
Also featured with the new art was a series of movies—something I’ve not seen before with Goicolea—which explore what I thought to be the human psychosis. Neuroticism, fear, curiosity, and even various Goicolea “clones” being tickled from the inside as they tumble down a staircase.
As a whole, Anthony Goicolea’s new exhibit was worth the entire day of rain in the Big Apple, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in creative photography. Rare will be showing Goicolea’s new series and also new videos until November 9. You can get more information about Rare Gallery and catch a glimpse of Goicolea’s new series at www.rare-gallery.com.
