EVIDENCE OF LOVE ON PLANET EARTH
DO UG M E NU E Z PHOTO GR A PHS
EVIDENCE OF LOVE ON PLANET EARTH PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOUG MENUEZ Curated by Karen Mullarkey
We all want to be loved––it’s built into our DNA. Along with the need for food and shelter, love, or the lack thereof, is clearly the main driving wheel of civilization and the arts. No matter how cool or important you are, how hip your clothing, friends or hang-outs, deep down you want to find and connect with that one person who will make life worth living. You just do.
Some say that every film is a variation on one of only six or seven themes from life. Most of these themes center on love––the loss of love, the triumph of love, the betrayal and deceit of false lovers, and so on. We need love so badly that we often trivialize that need until it becomes a trite subject, masking the pain of such a profound and crucial component of our human psyches.
These images were pulled from my work going back 30 years and show moments that reflect a fundamental aspect of being alive: the act of loving another human being. Love and lust are intertwined, and there are consequences to both, of course. Seeing the photographs selected by Karen Mullarkey around this theme from my archive was a wonderful revelation in that I found I’ve been particularly alert to love in its various manifestations over the years. I guess that makes me a voyeur.
Doug Menuez
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EVIDENCE OF LOVE ON PLANET EARTHplates
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Paolo & Tereza Mill Valley, California. 1995.
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Janice Arnold, with grandchildren Dayton, Ohio. 2009 Janice’s daughter is in jail on drug charges so she is raising her grandchildren.
9 Hampstead Heath London, 2001
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South Beach Miami, Florida, 2010
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Lovers San Francisco, California. 1995
Former President George G.W. Bush & Mrs. Barbara Bush Kennebunkport, Maine. 2009
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The Gay Wing, County Jail San Bruno, California. 1978
Bob Weir & Family Sausalito, California. 1999
Michael Matisse & Gina Cerre San Diego, California. 1994
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Mother & Daughter #1 Guadalajara, Mexico. 2000
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Father & Son Brooklyn, New York. 2009
Mother & Daughter #2 Guadalajara, Mexico. 2000
Jones Beach New York, 2008
Mother Teresa Anacostia, Maryland. 1981 Her first visit to the US.
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Friends Rakai Home, Uganda. 2006 Ugandan AIDS orphanage.
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Brian & Acire Gulu, Uganda. 2006 Brothers reunited seven years after their family was massacred by the Lord’s Resistance Army.
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Reunion Gulu, Uganda. 2006
Former child soldier and kidnap victim, who escaped the Lord’s Resistance Army, reunites with his Aunties after 7 years apart.
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Death Valley California. 1999
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Geek Sex, Adobe Systems Mountain View, California. 1989
The Party Muir Beach, California. 1997
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Samir & Rebbeca Honolulu, Hawaii. 2008
Francesca & Massimo Venice, Italy. 1998
The Kiss, Adobe Employee Party Mountain View, California. 1988
NeXT Computer Redwood City, California. 1987
Hacienda San Jose de Réfugio Amatitan, Mexico. 2001
The Costa Brothers Miami, Florida. 2010
The Costa Family Miami, Florida. 2010
Ngoc Son Temple Hanoi, Vietnam. 2008
14th Street Station New York. 2009
Woodstock New York, 2006
Couple in a Mirror Absinthe, New York. 2008
The Party #1 Marin County, California. 1996
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Bilbao Euskadi (Spain), 1990
La Concha Donostia, Euskadi (Spain), 1989
Second Date Sausalito, California. 1998
House Party LIttle Haiti, Miami, Florida. 2010
San Francisco, California. 1995
Third Date Miami, Florida. 2010
Labor of Love San Francisco, California, 2003
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Dave Mendez & Daughter Elle Charleston, South Carolina, 2009
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Tango Rehearsal Miami, Florida, 2010
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Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica, California, 1994
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Acrobats, Desír New York, NY. 2008
El Bar Maestranza Guadalajara, Mexico. 1999
COVER: Gabriela & Milton Miami, Florida, 2010
Contact: HEATHER ELDER REPRESENTS HEATHER@HEATHERELDER.COM O.415.931.7709 DOUG MENUEZ MENUEZ PICTURES, LLC O.212.336.1561 STUDIO @ MENUEZ.COM WWW.MENUEZ.COM INSTAGRAM: dmenuez TWITTER: dougmenuez FACEBOOK: Doug Menuez LINKEDIN: Doug Menuez All images and text ©Doug Menuez/Menuez Pictures, LLC
Heather Elder Represents heather@heatherelder.com (415) 931-7709
MENUEZ www.menuez.com