Not everything looks worse in black and white.  In the case of David Fenton’s small gem of a photography collection “The Eye of the Revolution”, worse could be more loosely translated to more serious.

These serious images of the seventies revolution are pocketed away in the nondescript Steven Kasher Gallery. This small exhibit is in a high ceiling room with the black and white photo prints interrupting the otherwise stark white walls. Their somber gray tones draw the unsuspecting viewer in with a note of concern. After a closer inspection they either draw back with indulgent smiles. John Lennon and Yoko Ono onstage together, Mick Jagger doing a power jump, bare feet dancing girls with long flowing hair.

When one thinks of the hippie and rock and roll revolution all the monochromatic tones of black and white photography do not come to mind. Flowers do not come in black or white. That being said, it is unfair to stereotype the revolution of the seventies to the movement for peace. Spine straightening social issues such as the fight against racism and “Nam” plagued what “The Who” referred to as “my generation”.

David Fenton was part of that generation. When he prowled the streets, parks and concerts of New York City he could not have known how people would view the history he captured on film as the “revolution”. He himself had access behind police lines to capture all these pictures of protest. Now a few decades older I believe that David Fenton uses this medium to add a sense of timelessness and credibility to the subjects of his photos. Yet these icons of youth and freedom are now parents and adults in positions of power that they themselves rebelled against in their youth. I find that a full

The print that stood out to me not just because of its size but its subject is the aptly titled “Policemen on Horseback Chasing Boy Who Burned an American Flag”.  Two policemen are chasing a small boy who can’t be older than 7 or eight across the lawn on horseback. Fenton chooses not to center the boy in the frame because the larger issue at hand is the abuse of authority over civilians. The burning of an American flag is in fact illegal but in those times of protest the little boy was not the only doing such rebellious things. The fact that he was chosen to be made an example of simply because of his age is all captured in this photo almost as proof of something otherwise incredible.

My favorite photo by far is of the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones in New York City is captured in a midair power leap. The point of view is from the audience so the shot comes out with his figure at the top of the frame. This causes the viewers to find themselves looking at him in the eyes of an audience member in 1972. The lighting is not deliberate in Fenton’s part as most of the concerts the Rolling Stones had and have coordinated lighting. The light outlines Young Jagger’s features and his lithe, wiry frame is a lighter gray than the dark background was the crowd watches him. The music of the Rolling Stones was important in that time period to the generation of the 1970’s and Fenton chooses to convey him as the center of attention by placing in the center of the shot

            The Rolling Stones and a boy who burned a flag may not have much in common but they are literally brought together in David Fenton’s aptly titled exhibit the “Eye of the Revolution”. Just like the name implies the music and youth of the seventies was at the center of the story social issues that young people faced in the seventies.

I made my way around the one-room gallery, starting with the photograph labeled number one.  There were no captions for these photos, only small black pins with tiny white numbers placed at the corner of each photo.  Even though the 1960s are famous, or maybe infamous, for the Vietnam War, these photos painted a much different picture – one that showed people not only coming together in an attempt to end the Vietnam war, but also to try to change the society in which they lived.  There were photographs depicting protests for women’s suffrage and civil rights, sky writers writing the “peace” sign, and even a sign nominating Franz Kafka for President.

The theme of the gallery was apparent from the incredible variety of messages being shown in the photographs – freedom of speech.  A photo of a man wearing a pig mask behind a police officer reflected slang of the time, and the man crossing his arms in front of “Patria O Muerte” on a brick wall showed off his patriotism.  The simple design of the gallery and the content of the photos made it the truest expression of free speech that I have ever seen.

http://www.stevenkasher.com/

Rebellions against authority – government, parents, elders, and everything else were ubiquitous in the 1960’s. David Fenton, a teenager at this time, was an underground news photographer. He photographed the anti-war protests, civil rights rallies, and concerts. Now, forty years later, in the Steven Kasher Gallery on 23^rd St., these photographs are displayed in an exhibit called “Eye of the Revolution”. I found it interesting to see pictures from this time, when my parents were growing up, and to compare what they have told me to what I see in actual photographs from the period.

            In one picture, I was able to sense the extreme passion some of the young people had for the protest against the war in Vietnam. The photo was captioned, Central Park Peace March, April 5, 1969. This photograph shows a cop standing in the midst of a crowd of people at a rally. One of the protestors is disguised in a pig mask and is standing behind the oblivious cop. He is also giving the finger to the police officer. This graphically portrays the lack of respect for authority that young people had during the anti-war demonstrations. It was very different to see this in a photograph taken at the time, rather than to read about this in my history textbook.

            Another remarkable image was titled, David Peel and the Lower East Side- Central Park, NYC 1969. When I saw this photograph I thought that it captured the essence of what the ‘60’s music and culture was all about. In this photo, the singers all have long hair, and open shirts. Some of them even have the large framed glasses common at the time. This photo encapsulated everything that I imagined about the hippie culture – guitars, long hair, and flowery jewelry.  

             I find it interesting that what my parents consider to be recent history seems to me as no different than learning about the flappers of the 1920’s. These photographs opened my eyes to the reality of the time period and some of the events that were taking place.