For the Record: Documentary Photographs from the Etherton Gallery Archive presents a selection of documentary photography drawn from Etherton Gallery’s vast collection, highlighting classic examples of the genre from the 1930s to the present. Also, on display – Danny Lyon: Thirty Photographs, 1962-1980 – a portfolio of images central to Lyon’s career, published by Etherton Gallery in collaboration with the photographer. The two shows run concurrently through May 29, 2021.
The photographs included in For the Record underscore the broad range of styles that fall under contentious category of documentary. The show includes images from Depression era projects such as Berenice Abbott’s 5th Avenue at 8th Street, Manhattan, March 20, 1936 from Changing New York; Hoover Dam, Nevada (1955), Robert Frank’s critical view of 1950s American consumer culture; Untitled (Boy Showing Tattoo on Arm), (1959) from Bruce Davidson’s seminal photo essay, Brooklyn Gang; Billy Mann (1968) from Larry Clark’s series Tulsa, in which Clark photographed a group of young drug addicts from the inside; Graciela Iturbide’s Mujer ángel, Desierto de Sonora, México (1979), an iconic image from her project documenting the indigenous Seri people of Sonora; and Danny Lyon’s Leslie, Downtown Knoxville, 1967.
Highlights of the exhibition also include work by Diane Arbus, Esther Bubley, Dan Budnik, Alejandro Cartagena, Vivian Cherry, Ernst Haas, Steve McCurry, Rodrigo Moya, W. Eugene Smith, Alex Webb, and Garry Winogrand.
As Terry Etherton says, “A documentary photography exhibition provides an aesthetic and educational experience. This is a great opportunity to visit the gallery in-person or online and learn about the history of documentary photography through the fine examples in the gallery collection, and it’s a lens through which viewers can interpret contemporary events.”
For the Record: Documentary Photographs from the Etherton Gallery Archive is an exhibition for this moment in which we can no longer agree on “facts,” and notions of “truth” have become distorted.
For the Record: Documentary Photographs
Danny Lyon: Thirty Photographs, 1962-1980
Through May 29, 2021
Etherton Gallery
135 South 6th Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701
