Presented to the public for the first time, David Levinthal's History series is the culmination of the photographer's work over the past thirty-five years. Like his previous series, History speaks to the way in which imagery derived from the mass media infiltrates memory, imagination, and identity. With vintage toy figurines and play sets he creates elaborate scenes based on events in history, especially as they are depicted in movies and on TV. Levinthal then photographs the constructed scenes and creates large, history-painting-sized prints. The compositions are reminiscent of famous images from art, literature, and visual culture.
About the Author
David Levinthal (b. in San Francisco 1949) lives and works in New York. Levinthal, a central figure in American postmodern photography, has staged tableaux using toys and miniature dioramas for nearly 40 years. He has produced a diverse oeuvre, utilizing primarily large-format Polaroid photography.His work is included in many collections in Europe and America. Lisa Hostetler, PhD, is Curator-in-Charge of its Department of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY. Hostetler was previously curator of photographs at the Milwaukee Art Museum for seven years. Dave Hickey works as art critic, writer and curator in New York. He has published several books, e.g.The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty (1993/2009) and Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy (1997).
