EXHIBITION

September 13 – November 1, 2003

Artist’s reception:
Saturday, September 13, 2003
5.30 to 8.00 p.m.

ClampArt is pleased to announce “Brian Finke: Photographs of American Cheerleaders & Football Players,” the artist’s first solo show in New York City. The exhibition coincides with the release of Finke’s first monograph, 2-4-6-8: American Cheerleaders & Football Players, from Umbrage Editions.

Over the past several years artist, Brian Finke, has traveled across the country photographing high school and college level cheerleaders and football players. Spending a period of a few days to an entire week with a particular squad or team, the subjects eventually become quite comfortable with the presence of the camera, allowing Finke to capture a variety of wonderfully candid moments. Yet, due to Finke’s distinct mix of artificial and natural light, these documentary images possess a look of artful styling.

Finke’s work functions on a number of levels. In one sense, these are highly ambivalent images, revealing diversity in uniformity, while also underscoring aspects of extreme conformity, as manifested by the construction of individual identities in the image of the team. Addressing social behaviors, self-definition, and sexuality, the artist documents the rocky trail of adolescence. Finke has commented, “In my photos, these teens struggle between being part of a group and defining themselves.”

However, in conveying such, Finke is a master of imbuing photographs with humor and life. He avoids casting a judgmental eye, choosing rather lighthearted stories told with respect and hilarity.

Brian Finke graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1998 with a BFA in photography. Since that time, he has had incredible success as a commercial photographer, with work appearing in periodicals such as The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Details, Time, and Newsweek. He has received several prestigious grants and awards, including the Award of Excellence from The Alexia Foundation for World Peace (1998) and the World Press Photo Masterclass Award (2001).

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