David Levinthal

Westerners, The Saloon

2014

DAVID LEVTINTHAL was born in San Francisco and received his MFA in Photography from Yale University. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions at institutions including the Whit...

David Levinthal is a central figure in American postmodern photography. Since 1972, he has photographed dolls and toys in settings that force us to question their apparent innocence....

David Levinthal is a central figure in American postmodern photography. Since 1972, he has photographed dolls and toys in settings that force us to question their apparent innocence....

DAVID LEVTINTHAL was born in San Francisco and received his MFA in Photography from Yale University. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions at institutions including the Whit...

David Levinthal Title: Untitled Edition: 2/5 Hand signed, numbered and dated in ink on recto Date: 1997 Original Polaroid Large Format Print (Photo-Internal dye diffusion transfer) Location: Cambridge Massachusetts United States Dimensions: Image: 28 X 22 in. Framed: 36 X 30 inches This depicts a still life of African American Blackface iron toys from his provocative, controversial photo series. This body of work is drawn from David Levinthal’s project Blackface, dating from 1995-1998, it featured blackface Polaroids of his original memorabilia, drawn from the artist’s African American Americana personal collection, that are the Polaroid’s subject matter. Levinthal’s collection of black memorabilia evolved into Blackface, a stimulating and controversial body of work. The title, according to Levinthal, “makes reference to the many facades, poise and physicality of these figures.” The title is also taken from the name of a journal of a black film-making company and is a term referring to both blacks and whites. Traditionally associated with minstrel, these images were used to perpetuate negative stereotypes. Levinthal’s work was originally intended to be exhibited at Philadelphia’s ICA in 1997. However, the show was cancelled when it became a cause célèbre as a result of its controversial subject-matter. Subsequently, images from the series were exhibited at the International Center of Photography and at Janet Borden, Inc. in New York. Levinthal’s initial inspiration for Blackface was D.W.Griffith’s 1915 film “Birth of a Nation,” a groundbreaking film of its time and a watershed moment in the cultural wars. It’s extreme and racist depictions of African Americans fueled a debate over the efficacy and motivation of using racially charged images that continues to reverberate in our culture today. Levinthal’s Blackface was originally intended to be a series based on “Birth of a Nation,” but the focus of the work shifted to the inscription of racially charged identities – what these collectibles convey, how they function within society, and how they continue to polarize social attitudes – within material objects produced and packaged as consumer goods. Levinthal works using a 20 x 24 inch Polaroid Polacolor ER Land Film which results in a large format Polaroid...

"Saloon" is an original oil painting on board signed and dated in the lower left by the artist Charles Damrow. It depicts two cowboys on horseback with guns aiming at the saloon as they ride away. There are bullet-holes in the window of the saloon building and the horse tied...

Ed. of 9. "San Bernardino Cowboy" signals the beginning of a brand new series titled "American West." This visually striking work, with its warm hues and iridescent pink desert sky,...

One-of-a-kind photograph from the Desire series, Scanamural on Copper Lame in a custom copper frame, unique variation outside the edition, by David Levinthal, American 1991. Authenti...