‘States of America’ explores a fractured social landscape

Karate Stance, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1977, by Mark Cohen. Courtesy of Wilson Centre for Photography. © The artist

(Image credit: TBC)

last updated 7 October 2022

What do William Eggleston, Diane Arbus and Stephen Shore have in common? A flair for recording the most dire political times in America, according to Nottingham Contemporary’s exhibition, ‘States of America’. The exhibition examines a crucial generation of photographers that experimented with ingenious approaches to documentary photography over three decades, from the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s and 70s to the Reagan Era.

*Ginger Shore, Causeway Inn, 1977, by Stephen Shore, from the series Uncommon Places 1977. © The artist. Courtesy of 303 Gallery, New York, Sprüth Magers and Wilson Centre for Photography*

Delving into the vast collection of the Wilson Centre for Photography, curators Irene Aristizábal and Abi Spinks have framed the show through the Donald Trump’s dysfunctional presidency, with the 250 photographs by 17 artists preluding America’s current discord. They make a convincing case: images by Milton Rogovin like Lower West Side, Buffalo (1970) display the rapid disintegration of American city centres, while Bruce Davidson’s 1966 portrait of three girls in East Harlem touches on racial and social divisions.

The Wilson Centre, founded in 1988 by James Bond screenwriter Michael G Wilson, is widely known as one of the most exhaustive contemporary photography collections in the world, with a focus on political art. Many of the images in this exhibition reflect modern American today, like William Eggleston’s Las Vegas (yellow shirt guy at pinball machine) 1965-68, and Stephen Shore’s Ginger Shore, Causeway Inn, Tampa, Florida (1997), where a woman stands listless in a swimming pool.

Through these images, Aristizábal and Spinks triumph in exploring the political shifts that happened in those three decades from 1960-1990, and how they continue to have an impact on American life as we know it.

Memphis, 1965-68, by William Eggleston, — *Memphis*, 1965-68, by William Eggleston, from the Los Alamos. *© Eggleston Artistic Trust. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London and Wilson Centre for Photography*

*Kid looking over at Camera*, by Mark Cohen, 1972. *Courtesy of Wilson Centre for Photography. © The artist*

*A Boy in Front of the Loew’s 125th Street, Movie Theater*, 1976, by Dawoud Bey. *Courtesy of Stephen Daiter Gallery. © The artist*

*A Woman with Hanging Overalls*, 1978-79, by Dawoud Bey. *Courtesy of Stephen Daiter Gallery. © The artist*

*Lower West Side, Buffalo (Mother and child)*, 1969-72, by Milton Rogovin

*Young Girl at Beach, New Jersey*, 1977, by Mark Cohen. *Courtesy of Wilson Centre for Photography. © The artist*

*Las Vegas (woman walking on sidewalk)*, 1965-68, by William Eggleston. *© Eggleston Artistic Trust. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London and Wilson Centre for Photography*

*Las Vegas (yellow shirt guy at pinball machine)*, 1965-68, by William Eggleston, from the *Los Alamos* series. *© Eggleston Artistic Trust. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York/London and Wilson Centre for Photography*

INFORMATION

‘States of America: Photography from the Civil Rights Movement to the Reagan Era’ is on view until 26 November. For more information, visit the Nottingham Contemporary website

ADDRESS

Nottingham Contemporary
Weekday Cross
Nottingham NG1 2GB

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