Exhibition Dates: May 11 - June 15, 2013
The gallery is pleased to announce its first exhibition of work by Danny Lyon. “The Bikeriders” features a selection of photographs by Danny Lyon, one of the most important documentary photographers and filmmakers to come of age in the 1960s, which chronicle the activities of the Chicago Outlaws motorcycle club from 1963 to 1967. Lyon joined the Outlaws and documented the daily lives of its members from the seat of his Triumph motorcycle, equipped with a Nikon, a Rolleiflex and a seven-pound portable tape recorder. In 1968, his photographs were published in the landmark book, The Bikeriders, which not only launched his career, but also introduced motorcycle counterculture to mainstream America, paving the way for the film Easy Rider.
Writing in The Photobook: A History, Vol. I, photographer Martin Parr remarked,
“The Bikeriders represented a significant step in 1960s American photography, not only launching an important photographic career, but also giving a younger generation of photographers a spokesman of their own age. “Lyon was part of the generation he was photographing, so was able to talk with an authentic voice about his subjects, understanding instinctively not only their hopes and aspirations, but also why they were rebelling against all kinds of adult authority.” Indeed, in its mix of realism and romanticism…The Bikeriders helped sear motorcycle counterculture into the American psyche, and was an inspiration for the film Easy Rider.”
