Central Park Zoo-New York, New York
Garry Winogrand
Photography
Since Winogrand took this photograph of a white woman and a Black man, each holding a chimpanzee dressed in children’s clothing, many critics have noted the picture’s deliberate ambiguity—not only about the circumstances of how these figures came to be here, but also about the way Winogrand chose to frame them with his camera, cutting out most of the surrounding context.
During the 1960s, Winogrand became increasingly reluctant to speak about the “meaning” of his photographs, preferring to focus on their form and technique, in spite of their excessive narrative potential. Perhaps this was a reaction against his photojournalistic and advertising work, which was often illustrative. Winogrand would cite Susan Sontag’s influential essay “Against Interpretation” (1964), which deplored the growing impulse at the time to reduce works of art to their content in order to make them mean something. She argued, like Winogrand, in favor of the pleasure and poetry of seeing.
During the 1960s, Winogrand became increasingly reluctant to speak about the “meaning” of his photographs, preferring to focus on their form and technique, in spite of their excessive narrative potential. Perhaps this was a reaction against his photojournalistic and advertising work, which was often illustrative. Winogrand would cite Susan Sontag’s influential essay “Against Interpretation” (1964), which deplored the growing impulse at the time to reduce works of art to their content in order to make them mean something. She argued, like Winogrand, in favor of the pleasure and poetry of seeing.
PORTFOLIO/SERIES
From the portfolio: "Garry Winogrand"
MEDIUM
Gelatin silver print
DATES
1967; reprinted 1974
DIMENSIONS
Other (Mount): 14 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (37.5 x 50.2 cm)
Image: 8 9/16 x 12 7/8 in. (21.7 x 32.7 cm) (show scale)
SIGNATURE
Signed in graphite, lower right: "Garry Winogrand"
COLLECTIONS
Photography
ACCESSION NUMBER
83.266.10
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Renata Shapiro
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Garry Winogrand (American, 1928–1984). Central Park Zoo-New York, New York, 1967; reprinted 1974. Gelatin silver print, Other (Mount): 14 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (37.5 x 50.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Renata Shapiro, 83.266.10. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: , 83.266.10_PS9.jpg)
EDITION
Edition: 14/75
IMAGE
overall, 83.266.10_PS9.jpg., 2019
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
© The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
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