C O L L E C T E D
C O L L
E C T E D
Published in conjunction with the exhibition Collected at Pier 24 Photography May 2, 2016 – January 31, 2017
Robert Frank, Street Line / New York, from Black White and Things, 1951 26
Robert Frank, Tulip / Paris, from Black White and Things, 1950 BLUFF | 27
Robert Frank, Pull My Daisy, 1959 (stills) 28
Robert Frank, Mabou, Nova Scotia, 1977 BLUFF | 29
SUSIE TOMPKINS BUELL MODERN VISION 36
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Consuelo Kanaga, Mother and Son (The Question, Florida), ca. 1950 Consuelo Kanaga, She is the Tree of Life to Them, Florida, 1950 40
Consuelo Kanaga, Untitled [Young Girl in Profile], 1948 TOMPKINS BUELL | 41
Tina Modotti, Workers Parade, 1926 48
Tina Modotti, Woman with Olla, 1926 TOMPKINS BUELL | 49
Interview with
David Mahoney
There is no substitute for looking as much as possible. Because San Francisco is such an exciting city right now, there are always interesting people to meet with and learn from coming through town.
How long have you been collecting art? Since 1975. Why did you start collecting? I didn’t realize I was starting to collect, I just thought I was buying a picture. By the time I bought the first picture I had no room to hang on a wall, I knew I was a collector. What was the first artwork you acquired? Black Mesa by William Clift—it’s from his New Mexico portfolio. He was a friend of my sister’s (also a photographer) and she was breaking up the set. Has your collection been shaped by a particular concept or theme? Although it was not always so, the collection has over time become exclusively focused on American photographs, ideally examples that describe or comment on the American experience. This leads to some strange definitions of what “fits.” A photograph will not be of interest just because it was made by an American photographer, nor are all good American photographs made by Americans. And who is an American anyway? While contemporary work does have a place in the collection (especially process-based work that uses historical techniques), I have never felt like I was smart enough to be a true contemporary collector. I need some distance in time in order to have confidence about placing work into context. What do you look for as you continue to add to your collection? And how do you stay informed? While there is plenty of work in the collection by well-known artists, including some of their “famous” images, that is not really what I focus on. I would much rather have the reaction to a print be “Wow, what is THAT?” than “Oh, you have one of THOSE.” Work that alters perceived truths about photo history or expands and broadens our understanding of artists, time periods, or movements is of particular interest.
I try to stay informed by reading as much as I can—online and in print—
and paying attention to what the best institutions (like SFMOMA) and dealers 60
are showing and working on. There is no substitute for looking as much as possible. Because San Francisco is such an exciting city right now, there are always interesting people to meet with and learn from coming through town. Has your approach to collecting remained consistent over time, or have there been significant shifts in your interests or direction? When I started out, based on the example of my first “professor”— my sister, who is a photographer, art historian, and photography teacher—I collected across the history of photography. About fifteen years ago I sat down to find out what was potentially good and distinctive about the collection and determined that it was strongest in American works and made that the focus. That simultaneously narrowed and broadened my collecting—eliminating many works I had long hoped to own and opening up new areas for much deeper consideration and pursuit. Around the same time, I decided to collect parallel to SFMOMA’s collection, with the idea that the bulk of my collection would end up there. Working in that way, in a dialogue with one of the world’s great photography collections and some terrific curators, has been both humbling and energizing. What has surprised you most? The biggest surprise is how much there still is to learn. As much as I read, look, and talk with other collectors and curators there are always new artists to discover throughout the history of photography as well as unknown work by more recognized ones. Who or what has influenced you? In addition to my sister, I have learned from dealers, curators, and fellow collectors. I was greatly helped by the generosity of several of the pioneering photo dealers early on, such as Tom Halsted, Ursula Gropper, and Mack Lee, who I have been working with for almost thirty years. They generously shared their time and knowledge, as have others like Joe Bellows, Tom Gitterman, Michael Shapiro, etc. The SFMOMA team is smart, fun, and opinionated, and while I don’t often behave as they would like me to in the short term, in the longer term they have had a great influence on the collection. Has your study of photography changed how you see the world? It’s funny that with all my years of looking at photographs I still can’t take a decent one! I do think that I look at the world with more attention and see things that are visually interesting that others miss. Also, the sense of history that is so important to my process of collecting has made me more attuned to patterns and lessons of history in other areas like business and politics.
ELLIS & MAHONEY | 61
How did you select the works for this exhibition? While some of the artists in the selection are well known, most are artists who have been overlooked or forgotten. I am particularly pleased to be able show the two series by Donna-Lee Phillips. Though widely shown in the late ’70s and ’80s, they have not been seen publicly for decades. Donna-Lee was a founding member of the San Francisco Photography and Language movement and a pioneering feminist artist. Around these I have picked work by a range of artists who show the variety of concerns that self-portraiture can address as well as the astonishing diversity of media that was employed during this time of experimentation and broadening of photographic practice. How does this selection of works speak to your collection as a whole? It is a good example of how themes can emerge in a collection well before they become conscious or directed. There are several objects (e.g., the Ellen Carey print) that were consciously purchased to accompany the others, but most were bought for other reasons, not specifically because they are female self-portraits. More broadly, however, they represent some of the ways that I collect. First, most of the works are by artists that have either been forgotten (at least by the market) despite their influence in their time and their connection to other, more widely recognized artists. I am much more concerned about the quality of the work than the perceived reputation of the artist. Second, most of the pieces are interesting not just as images but as objects—even the ones that are traditional gelatin silver prints. I have been concerned from very early on with not just the condition of a print but also its “presence”—does it have the ability to hold both immediate and sustained attention? What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a collection? There is no substitute for curiosity and a lot of looking. The Internet has made both looking at and acquiring work easier, but one should be cautious about using it to gain an understanding of what a print/object should look like. For that, you have to get to museums, galleries, or other collections and look deeply at the real thing and ask questions. When you see a museum/gallery show do you like it or not? Why? What subject matter, artists, themes excite you? Importantly, what can you afford? What pictures come back again and again in your memory? Art fairs, like the annual AIPAD show in New York or Paris Photo, provide a concentrated opportunity to see a lot of photographs in a short time as well as to meet fellow collectors and curators. And finally, run—don’t walk—from anyone who tells you to buy something because it will be a good investment. That is only rarely true and even more rarely true when you buy it for that purpose.
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Ellen Carey, Untitled, Self-Portrait, 1985 ELLIS & MAHONEY | 63
Ana Barrado, Westward Bound—a self-portrait in San Francisco, 1977 82
ELLIS & MAHONEY | 83
CARLA EMIL SOLITUDE 84
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Richard Barnes, Unabomber Exhibit A, 1999 94
William Eggleston, Sumner, Mississippi, ca. 1969–70 EMIL | 95
Louise Lawler, War is Terror, 2001/2003 98
Helen Levitt, Bronx, New York (Woman with hose), 1942 EMIL | 99
RANDI & BOB FISHER W I L L I A M E G G L E STO N : LO S A L A M O S 104
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William Eggleston, Untitled, from the portfolio Los Alamos, 1965–74 108
FISHER | 109
William Eggleston, Untitled, from the portfolio Los Alamos, 1965–74 110
FISHER | 111
Interview with
Dan Holland
[This selection of work] taunts the rest of the collection. I think the rest are jealous, since no one else has commanded as much attention and depth.
How long have you been collecting art? Since November 7, 1986. Why did you start collecting? Collecting snuck up on me. In 1986 I was in school, working part time, had no money, and was living in a depressing Upper Market apartment in the shadow of Sutro Tower. On windy, foggy nights the tower would moan, punctuating the dreary atmosphere of my mid-century yellow stucco duplex with paper-thin walls, popcorn ceilings, and beige wall-to-wall carpeting. One morning I came across a review in the San Francisco Chronicle of a photography exhibition at Fraenkel Gallery, featuring a piece I knew had the power to transform my apartment. It did. What was the first artwork you acquired? Desert Fire #249 by Richard Misrach. Has your collection been shaped by a particular concept or theme? Not at first—one piece led to another and various themes have emerged. I’ve been drawn in particular to people, portraits, and places, especially vintage blackand-white photographs. There are definitely themes of defiance, rebellion, and attitude, as well as curiosity, discovery, and fun. I like art that makes you wonder. What do you look for as you continue to add to your collection? And how do you stay informed? I follow strands. Recently, I started exploring images of mid-century London, which led me to Bill Brandt, which led to E.O. Hoppé, then to Roger Mayne, Martin Parr, and on and on. History, leadership, and politics fascinate me, so this thread has been particularly fun to follow.
The Meatyard strand runs deep. More than any other artist, his work
evokes great memories of exploring old abandoned mansions around Raleigh with my dad and following fire trucks down country roads with my mom just to see what was happening (firemen painting fire hydrants was what was happening). My parents were always up for an adventure, which was good (and necessary) given my boundless curiosity and restless energy.
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When I was six we moved to D.C. and along with us came my little storehouse of black-and-white mem-
ories that had taken up residence in my head. These memories have been awakened and reinterpreted by an optometrist working in Lexington, Kentucky, who experimented with photography, casting his children and family members as elements of his stories. So, what do I look for as I continue to add to this collection of wonderful, haunting, questioning images? The next piece of a jigsaw puzzle that captures the precise moment that launched my lifelong pursuit of “why?”
I stay informed by reading, looking, meeting people, and asking a lot of questions. I love it when someone
says, “I’ve never been asked that question, let me get back to you . . .” Has your approach to collecting remained consistent over time, or have there been significant shifts in your interests or direction? I have definitely grown more daring. When I first started collecting, I wondered what others might think of a particular piece, and that would influence my decision. As my confidence has grown, so has my confidence in how I approach collecting. I care less about what others say and more about what the art is telling me. What has surprised you most? There is a tension between emotion and reason in collecting that I hadn’t fully comprehended before getting into it. In many respects, collecting is all about emotion and what resonates for you. Yet there is something intellectual about the process that totally appeals to my curiosity and desire to learn. I’ve been surprised by how certain pieces have led me down many paths of discovery. Who or what has influenced you? My partner of 21 years, Patrick Printy; Frish Brandt; Jeffrey Fraenkel— wonderfully creative individuals with amazing taste, style, and conviction. Has your study of photography changed how you see the world? Absolutely. I see beauty and questions and possibility everywhere. How did you select the works for this exhibition? Ralph Eugene Meatyard is the centerpiece of a collection around which so many other artists and pieces orbit. This selection of lifetime images is less well-known than those many might associate with Meatyard—I hope this exhibition offers something new for those who already appreciate his work and introduces him to those who inevitably will.
HOLLAND & PRINTY | 129
How does this selection of works speak to your collection as a whole? It taunts the rest of the collection. I think the rest are jealous, since no one else has commanded as much attention and depth. Yet. What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a collection? Follow your heart and don’t worry about what people think or if it’s important or if it’s collectible or if it goes with your couch—you’ll be amazed at what is revealed.
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Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Untitled, 1966 HOLLAND & PRINTY | 131
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All works: Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Untitled, 1960–68 HOLLAND & PRINTY | 137
K A I T LY N & M I K E K R I E G E R THE SHAPE OF LIGHT 142
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Anne Collier, Open Book (Lightning), 2016 158
B. Ingrid Olson, a marker of space between arms and hands was hands, 2015 KRIEGER | 159
NION McEVOY B E A U T Y A N D T H E B E AT 164
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Lee Friedlander, Aretha Franklin, 1968 168
Christian Patterson, Motown Drums, February 2006 McEVOY | 169
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McEVOY | 179
PILARA FOUNDATION RICHARD LEAROYD 184
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Richard Learoyd, After Ingres, 2011 202
PILARA | 203
ERICA DEEMAN 204
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T H E B AY 212
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HIROSHI SUGIMOTO THE L AST SUPPER: ACTS OF GOD 226
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Interview with
Chara Schreyer
Collecting is chaos organized.
How long have you been collecting art? Really, all my life, but as a child it was dolls from foreign countries and stamps. I consider this art collecting as well. Why did you start collecting? Collecting is chaos organized. I had the gene for it. What was the first artwork you acquired? A Jesús Soto. I went to the Hirshhorn in Washington, D.C., and walked through these huge, movable Op Art sculptures and fell in love. I still own it. Has your collection been shaped by a particular concept or theme? I am a child of Holocaust survivors. My father is still alive at ninety-nine years old. I was born in Germany after the war and came to the U.S. when I was five years old. English is my third language. I am drawn to language art, art that deals with being an outsider, alienation and loss and the concept rather than the object. I have collections within my collection—works by women artists, photography, German art, sculpture, and Conceptual art to name a few. What do you look for as you continue to add to your collection? And how do you stay informed? I look for artists that continue my dialogue of “What Is Art?” and for those artists that have changed, and are changing, the course of art history.
I stay informed in many ways—my art consultants Ruth/Catone. I’m on three
art museum boards—at SFMOMA and at MOCA and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles—The Art Newspaper, art fairs, lectures. Has your approach to collecting remained consistent over time, or have there been significant shifts in your interests or direction? There is a lot of serendipity in art collecting as you never know what will be brought to your attention next; therefore it is important to remain open to new and rediscovered artists and movements. At the core of my approach is always the dialogue of “What Is Art?”
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What has surprised you most? How ubiquitous the worldwide interest in art has become and how costly art is. Who or what has influenced you? I graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in art history. I am a visual person and have always immersed myself in the physical world around me. As a young child I walked the model homes my family built so art and furnishings were my visual cues. Has your study of photography changed how you see the world? Photography was a very natural evolution in my interest in art history. It was so satisfying to see that man, together with machine, could still create such multifaceted emotions with light and film. How did you select the works for this exhibition? I decided to theme my room as Danger, Disaster, and Beauty. Once you know the story of each photograph, the room makes for an interesting discussion about what appears to be dangerous but is also beautiful. What are disastrous are those events that are fatal and in a brutal way—Warhol’s Car Crash, Richter’s Eight Student Nurses. How does this selection of works speak to your collection as a whole? It honors artists that cross between mediums (Warhol, Richter, Prince) and those who exclusively focus on photography (Arbus, Bresson, Sultan). It deals with issues of loss, death, and beauty. The photos operate on many levels of meaning. Both women and men. Life in America. What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a collection? Spend as much time as possible looking and reading. I would also suggest using a reputable art consultant recommended by a professional in the art field.
SCHREYER | 235
Gerhard Richter, Acht Lernschwestern (Eight Student Nurses), 1971/1987 244
SCHREYER | 245
Robert Frank, Cleveland, 1955 246
Todd Hido, Untitled #2256-A, 1999 SCHREYER | 247
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS Every effort has been made to contact and acknowledge copyright holders for all reproductions. If proper acknowledgement has not been made, we ask copyright holders to contact Pier 24 Photography.
Diane Arbus: © The Estate of Diane Arbus, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Richard Avedon: © The Richard Avedon Foundation / John Baldessari: © John Baldessari, courtesy the artist / Richard Barnes: © Richard Barnes, courtesy the artist / Ana Barrado: © Ana Barrado / Anne Brigman: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY / Linda Brooks: © Linda Brooks, courtesy the artist / Harry Callahan: © The Estate of Harry Callahan, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York / Jo Ann Callis: © Jo Ann Callis, courtesy the artist and ROSEGALLERY, Santa Monica / Ellen Carey: © Ellen Carey, courtesy the artist and M+B Gallery, Los Angeles / Tammy Rae Carland: © Tammy Rae Carland, courtesy the artist and Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco / Henri Cartier-Bresson: © Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos / Anne Collier: © Anne Collier, courtesy the artist; Anton Kern Gallery, New York; Corvi-Mora, London; Marc Foxx Gallery, Los Angeles; The Modern Institute/ Toby Webster Ltd., Glasgow; Galerie Neu, Berlin. / Nicola Costantino: © Nicola Costantino, courtesy the artist / Judy Dater: © Judy Dater, courtesy the artist / Jose Dávila: © Jose Dávila, courtesy the artist and OMR, México City / Erica Deeman: © Erica Deeman, courtesy the artist / Rineke Dijkstra: © Rineke Dijkstra, courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery / Robert Doisneau: © Robert Doisneau/GAMMA-RAPHO / Elena Dorfman: © Elena Dorfman, courtesy the artist and Modernism, San Francisco / Chris Duncan: © Chris Duncan, courtesy the artist and Halsey Mckay Gallery, East Hampton / William Eggleston: © William Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy ROSEGALLERY, Santa Monica / Walker Evans: © Walker Evans Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Robert Frank: © Robert Frank, courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York / Michael Friedel: © Michael Friedel / Lee Friedlander: © Lee Friedlander, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Jim Goldberg: © Jim Goldberg, courtesy the artist, Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York, and Casemore Kirkeby, San Francisco / Judith Golden: © Judith Golden, courtesy the artist / Daniel Gordon: © Daniel Gordon, courtesy the artist / John Gutmann: Collection Center for Creative Photography © 1998 Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Todd Hido: © Todd Hido, courtesy the artist and Casemore Kirkeby, San Francisco / Roni Horn: © Roni Horn, courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth / Suda House: © Suda House, courtesy the artist / Daniel Kramer: © Daniel Kramer, courtesy the artist / Dorothea Lange: © The Dorothea Lange Collection, the Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor / Alma Lavenson: © Alma Lavenson Archive/ All rights reserved. / Louise Lawler: © Louise Lawler, courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York / Richard Learoyd: © Richard Learoyd, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Helen Levitt: Photograph by Helen Levitt © Film Documents LLC. All rights reserved. / Florian Maier-Aichen: © Florian Maier-Aichen, Courtesy the artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles/New York/Tokyo / David Maisel: © David Maisel, courtesy the artist and Haines Gallery, San Francisco / Christian Marclay: © Christian Marclay, courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo Credit: Will Lytch. Published by Graphicstudio, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL / Elizabeth McAlpine: © Elizabeth McAlpine / Chris McCaw: © Chris McCaw, courtesy the artist / Ralph Eugene Meatyard: © The Estate of Ralph Eugene
Meatyard, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Yasumasa Morimura: © Yasumasa Morimura, courtesy the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York / Bea Nettles: © Bea Nettles, courtesy the artist / Anne Noggle: © Anne Noggle, courtesy The New Mexico Museum of Art. Photo by Blair Clark. Photography Collection, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin / B. Ingrid Olson: © B. Ingrid Olson, courtesy the artist / Lisa Oppenheim: © Lisa Oppenheim, courtesy the artist / Christian Patterson: © Christian Patterson, courtesy the artist and ROSEGALLERY, Santa Monica / Irving Penn: © The Irving Penn Foundation, courtesy the Irving Penn Foundation / Donna-Lee Phillips: © Donna-Lee Phillips, courtesy the artist / Richard Prince: © Richard Prince, courtesy Regen Projects, Los Angeles / Marcia Resnick: © Marcia Resnick, courtesy the artist / Gerhard Richter: © Gerhard Richter, courtesy the artist / Thomas Ruff: © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Cindy Sherman: © Cindy Sherman, courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures, New York / Erin Shirreff: © Erin Shirreff, courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York / Melissa Shook: © Melissa Shook, courtesy the artist and Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla / Alexis Smith: © Alexis Smith, courtesy Honor Fraser Gallery / Hiroshi Sugimoto: © Hiroshi Sugimoto, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Larry Sultan: © Estate of Larry Sultan, courtesy Casemore Kirkeby, San Francisco / Mickalene Thomas: © Mickalene Thomas, courtesy the artist and Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Wolfgang Tillmans: © Wolfgang Tillmans, courtesy Galerie Buchholz, Berlin/Cologne / Umbo: © 2016 Gallery Kicken Berlin/Phyllis Umbehr/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Sara VanDerBeek: © Sara VanDerBeek, courtesy the artist and Altman Siegel, San Francisco / Catherine Wagner: © Catherine Wagner, courtesy Anglim Gilbert Gallery, San Francisco and Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica / Andy Warhol: © 2016 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Garry Winogrand: © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco / Francesca Woodman: © George and Betty Woodman / Max Yavno: © 1998 Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation
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Pier 24 Photography would like to acknowledge the following individuals and lenders for their assistance in making this exhibition possible. Erica Deeman Winn Ellis & David Mahoney Carla Emil Randi & Bob Fisher Fraenkel Gallery Yashar Hedayat Todd Hido Dan Holland & Patrick Printy Kelly Huang Gary Hutton Kaitlyn & Mike Krieger Richard Learoyd Peter MacGill Nion McEvoy Ian Mullen Abner Nolan Ruth | Catone Chara Schreyer Kelly Sultan Lizanne Suter Susie Tompkins Buell Gentle Wagner Zlot Buell + Associates Director: Christopher McCall Creative Director: Allie Haeusslein Editor: Ry Allred Editorial Associate: Mari Iki Anna Coerver Design: Bob Aufuldish, Aufuldish & Warinner Copy Editor: Amanda Glesmann Installation Photography: Charles Villyard Print Management: Sprinkel Media Jacket cover image: Todd Hido, Untitled #10240, 2011 Inset cover image: Unknown Photographer, untitled [Bay Bridge from ferry], ca. 1940 ISBN: 978-0-9972432-0-8 Printed in South Korea This publication would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the Pier 24 Photography volunteer and internship team. Š 2016 Pier 24 Photography All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright holders.