As soon as we heard that Elvis––the very King of Rock and Roll that inspired our Fall/Winter 2013 capsule collection hitting stores August 9th––was being featured in It's An American Thing, the latest show at Staley-Wise gallery, we made a mad dash for the exhibition devoted to American iconography faster than you could say "Viva Las Vegas."
The photography ranges from portrait to landscape to sport––taking on subjects from Paul Newman (making breakfast in Beverly Hills in short-shorts: awesome) to the greatest American icon of them all, the hamburger. Unsurprisingly, Elvis is repped here more than anyone or anything. (Clearly, you can't get more Americana than The King.)
Overall, the rather commercial collection of photographs is striking. The images are glamorous in an anti-hero sort of way, reading more documentary than flash-in-your-face paparazzi. They are not staged but record intimate, off-handed moments. A particularly surreal––almost jarring––photograph, Segregated Lunch Counter, grounds Elvis in what was his everyday reality: the pre-Civil Rights South, as he sits waiting for his grub while an African-American woman stands at the counter nearby. The result is a raw, dark, and poetic moment charged with paradox.
Here, it is just a part of a series of more human photographs of the King, whether it's of him standing in line for a double order of Southern fried chicken and milk, or waiting at a counter for bacon and eggs––always TCB. The American panorama that results from the collection of works (which feature unknowns as much as rock royalty) is just about as feel-good as a refreshing glass-bottled Coke.
All images courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery. Exhibition is open through September 14, 2013.
STALEY-WISE GALLERY
560 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
MAP
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Al Wertheimer, Pepsi in Hand: Elvis Presley sitting on the porch of his home at 1034 Audobon Drive, Memphis, Tennessee, July 4, 1956
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Al Wertheimer, Segregated Lunch Counter: Elvis Presley waits for his bacon and eggs at the railroad station lunch counter while a black woman waits for her sandwich, Chatanooga, Tennessee, 1956
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Al Wertheimer, Elvis Presley waits his turn for a double order of Southern fried chicken and milk, Sheffield, Alabama, 1956
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Sid Avery, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in their Beverly Hills home, 1958
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Sid Avery, Marlon Brando with bongo drums at his Beverly Hills home, 1955
![]()
George Hurrell, Joan Crawford, 1934
The photography ranges from portrait to landscape to sport––taking on subjects from Paul Newman (making breakfast in Beverly Hills in short-shorts: awesome) to the greatest American icon of them all, the hamburger. Unsurprisingly, Elvis is repped here more than anyone or anything. (Clearly, you can't get more Americana than The King.)
Overall, the rather commercial collection of photographs is striking. The images are glamorous in an anti-hero sort of way, reading more documentary than flash-in-your-face paparazzi. They are not staged but record intimate, off-handed moments. A particularly surreal––almost jarring––photograph, Segregated Lunch Counter, grounds Elvis in what was his everyday reality: the pre-Civil Rights South, as he sits waiting for his grub while an African-American woman stands at the counter nearby. The result is a raw, dark, and poetic moment charged with paradox.
Here, it is just a part of a series of more human photographs of the King, whether it's of him standing in line for a double order of Southern fried chicken and milk, or waiting at a counter for bacon and eggs––always TCB. The American panorama that results from the collection of works (which feature unknowns as much as rock royalty) is just about as feel-good as a refreshing glass-bottled Coke.
All images courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery. Exhibition is open through September 14, 2013.
STALEY-WISE GALLERY
560 Broadway
New York, NY 10012
MAP
.jpg)
Al Wertheimer, Pepsi in Hand: Elvis Presley sitting on the porch of his home at 1034 Audobon Drive, Memphis, Tennessee, July 4, 1956
.jpg)
Al Wertheimer, Segregated Lunch Counter: Elvis Presley waits for his bacon and eggs at the railroad station lunch counter while a black woman waits for her sandwich, Chatanooga, Tennessee, 1956
.jpg)
Al Wertheimer, Elvis Presley waits his turn for a double order of Southern fried chicken and milk, Sheffield, Alabama, 1956
.jpg)
Sid Avery, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in their Beverly Hills home, 1958
.jpg)
Sid Avery, Marlon Brando with bongo drums at his Beverly Hills home, 1955
.jpg)
George Hurrell, Joan Crawford, 1934