Ryan McGinley: Whistle for the Wind

　　2000年Ryan McGinley以學生攝影師的身分，在紐約蘇活區閒置的藝廊舉辦第一場個展，並發表手工製作的攝影書《The Kids Are Alright》，當時擔任美國惠特尼美術館館長的Sylvia Wolf輾轉收到這本作品集而大感驚豔，促使McGinley 2003年在惠特尼美術館辦展，也讓McGinley成為在該館辦展最年輕的攝影師。

　　McGinley擅以奇幻的影像風格展現青春世代的歡愉，畫面中盡是一個個在街頭恣意奔跑、享受盛夏的裸身少年，卻絲毫不見情色感，反而彰顯這些青春肉體的純淨與快樂。近年McGinley作品格局更加多元開闊，也嘗試新的記錄方式，比方他連續幾年募集年輕人，以鏡頭捕捉年輕男女一整個夏天橫越美國、率性生活的樣貌。

　　這本2012最新出版的攝影集《Whistle for the wind》，回顧McGinley十餘年來的精彩作品。(文/ 巧比非爾)

In 2000, Ryan McGinley, then a student, staged his first exhibition of photographs in an abandoned SoHo gallery. To coincide with the show, the artist created several handmade books featuring a sampling of his work entitled The Kids Are Alright. A copy eventually found its way into the hands of Sylvia Wolf, then a curator of photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2003, Wolf mounted an exhibition of his work at the venerable institution, the youngest artist to ever have a solo show at the museum.
What Wolf recognized--and what other critics, curators, and collectors would quickly discover--was an artist who understood and chronicled his own generation (habitu es of New York City's downtown) as no artist had before him. McGinley had managed to capture the hedonistic adventures of youth culture--kids hanging out and enjoying life--but without the dark underbelly of earlier artists who mined similar themes. As the work evolved, he moved away from the more documentary aspect of the early photographs and began to create scenarios where he could explore different ideas (aesthetic and otherwise). This eventually led to the now legendary summer-long road trips, capturing groups of twenty-somethings amongst a variety of American landscapes. In his most recent body of work, McGinley continues to explore--in black and white as well as in color--the body but in the still, pared down atmosphere of his studio.
In this first major monograph chronicling the entirety of the artist's career, McGinley's work is considered by three extraordinary figures: Chris Kraus, novelist and critic; John Kelsey, writer, artist and activist; and Gus Van Sant, the auteur filmmaker. Each attends--through the lens of their own rich insights--to various aspects of the artist's work and creative process, offering in-depth and unique perspectives on McGinley's work and import.

Chris Kraus is the author of four novels, most recently Summer of Hate (2012) and two books of art criticism. She writes frequently about visual and literary culture for Art in America, Artforum, May Revue, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. The recipient of a Warhol Foundation Arts Writing grant, she has published essays and monographs on contemporary artists including Jorge Pardo, Moyra Davey, Elke Krystufek, Tiny Creatures, The Bernadette Corporation, among many others. With Richard Birkett and Marco Vera, she organized the Artists Space exhibition ＂Radical Localism-Media and Art from the Pueblo Nuevo Gallery Mexicali Rose＂ in 2012. She teaches writing at European Graduate School.

John Kelseyis a writer, artist, and activist based in New York City. He is a member of the collective Bernadette Corporation and co-founder of the gallery Reena Spaulings Fine Art. His texts on contemporary art have appeared frequently in Artforum, where he is a contributing editor. He is the author of Rich Texts: Selected Writing for Art (Sternberg Press, 2010).

Gus Van Sant is a filmmaker, writer, artist and musician. His films include Drugstore Cowboy, Gerry, and My Own Private Idaho. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director--in 1998 for Good Will Hunting and in 2009 for Milk. His films Paranoid Park (2007) and Last Days (2005) were both nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or. In 2003 Elephant garnered that prestigious honor and Van Sant received the award for Best Director.