Aside from what appeared to be a spring block party in Soho last night there was something to be announced, seen, and celebrated, Ryan McGinley’s debut of “Everyone Knows This is Nowhere.” McGinley’s photo’s and subjects were not presented in the active outdoors; or within a landscape that could conjure up memories or relatable places – instead, the figures were suspended in an eternal artifice, a strategic nowhere, so that the viewers attention would rest solely on the sitters’ state of mind. In this way the portraits were able to reflect back onto the viewer, becoming surrogates for emotional possibility. There is joy as well as uncertainty in these intimate photographs, and our access to the subjects and their interaction with the photographer at times seem limitless. What is interesting is that Ryan’s new series and subjects were very “rock n’ roll”, very “androgynous”, and very “youthful”… Don’t think for once that a photographer and artist of this multitude doesn’t affect everything around tapping into so much that we see today in fashion and art and culture… The way I see these images is the same way I see many editorial spreads of now… The same way I see models depicted and being used and the same spirit of androgyny is seen as well… Definitely take some time and go to the Team Gallery on 83 Grand St. in Soho and take a peak.
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