By Lily Papendick, Assistant Editor of Arts & Entertainment; Photo Credits to Lily Papendick
On Saturday, Jan. 17, the Lore Degenstein Gallery held its opening reception for “Suburbia,” their first exhibit of the new year.
From 7 to 9 p.m., guests filled the gallery with casual conversation, mingling with gallery assistants and catering staff as they circulated around the exhibit.
Created by American photographer and journalist Bill Owens back in the early 70s, “Suburbia” is meant to be a documentation of the American suburban life in California, highlighting the mundane in a time where racial and cultural turmoil was at its height. To find subjects for his series, Owens put an ad in the paper, offering to visit families at their homes and photograph them in their natural spaces.
Compared to other exhibits the gallery has hosted, “Suburbia” ranges much more on the monochromatic side, with each wall displaying framed black and white photos alongside a short caption, usually containing a direct quote from the subject of the photo. As guests strolled along, they were able to get a glimpse of what suburban life consisted of over 50 years ago and what remains of it today.
Many photos were family-oriented and what modern-day society would consider ‘old-school’; men and women awkwardly posed in their living rooms, wood paneling and flowery wallpaper adorning the walls, mustaches and up-dos galore. But for every traditional photograph, there was an unconventional one to break the pattern. One photograph depicted a man and woman half-naked in bed. The caption discussed how many people view sex with the wrong attitude, but with them, “sex takes care of itself.” Another photo showed a woman trimming the plants growing out of a toilet situated in her yard. The caption read, “Before the dissolution of our marriage, my husband and I owned a bar. One day a toilet broke and we brought it home.”
With each photo of cookie-cutter homes and perfectly manicured lawns that were created from six-foot rolls, there was one to demonstrate the inner workings of suburban family life. Several successive photographs showed people’s hobbies, including drinking, coin collecting, rock collecting, and using a Wurlitzer, to name a few. Other photos showed young men and women dressed up and dancing or engaging in chatter around a well-decorated dinner table. A photograph of two little boys seated in front of the television was next to the caption: “I don’t like the space walk. It’s Saturday morning, and I want to see cartoons.”
Guests were also invited to anonymously answer a discussion board question: “Do you believe in an American Dream? If so, how would you describe it?” One notecard read, “A wife, a house, stable income, two kids,” while another one simply said, “Happy.”
Laura Libert, the director of the gallery, spoke a few words about the exhibit, relaying how she has been captivated by Owens’ “anthropological project” ever since she first discovered it back in 2019. She noted his ability to capture moments that have withstood the test of time; images taken decades ago continue to resonate with modern audiences through their shared human experience.
Although technology has replaced objects like the Wurlitzer, and many young people today would rather collect clothes and shoes than coins or rocks, the love and enjoyment of music, dancing, partying, conversation and art has remained alive. As long as humans continue to relish in their everyday life, the subject matter of “Suburbia” will ring true for many years to come.
“Suburbia” is on exhibit from now until Sunday, Feb. 22. The gallery hours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and student tours of the exhibition are offered on Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Thursday, Feb. 12, at 12 p.m. Come enjoy some art!