Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ralph Gibson first-ever published series The Strip, the French Galerie Thierry Bigaignon present a special solo show at the Photo L.A. fair this week.
The Strip, a graphic portrait of Sunset Boulevard, led LA-born Ralph Gibson to publish his first book, got him invited to join Magnum and literally sparkled his 50 years international career.
As Ralph Gibson stated: “The Strip, back then, was more a state of mind than an actual place. It represented the need for people to express themselves. In the context of the sexual revolution, it had something to do with music and contraception! For me, it was the place to be”. Ralph Gibson adds: “Documentary photography is mostly about access. You have to quickly establish a rapport with the subject. All the real photojournalist know that.”
As most of the activity was by night, Ralph Gibson had to deal with slow film and long exposure times, and learnt a lot about camera handling. He then moved to New York City in 1967 and started working with Magnum. But, Ralph Gibson soon moved on to assist Robert Frank and began working on the Somnambulist.
The Paris-based gallery is granting collectors with an access to rare vintage prints from Ralph Gibson’s private collection, as well as a re-edition of the photographs of the 1966 series, specially-made for Photo L.A..
Ralph Gibson, The Strip
January 12-15, 2017
At Photo L.A.
1435 N Genesee Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
USA
