American Bohemia

American Bohemia: The Photographic Legacy of the Village Voice celebrates the boundary-pushing photography that appeared in the country’s first alternative newspaper and preeminent countercultural forum, the Village Voice. Founded in 1955 in New York City’s Greenwich Village, the Voice reported on daily life and urban strife in the US’s largest city, investigated the rich and the powerful, and covered vibrant alternative theater, music, and art scenes. Contributors to the Voice often eschewed formal journalism for more radical and personal forms of expression, whether in writing, illustration, or photography.

The exhibition assembles works by 48 photographers who contributed to the Voice. The exhibition highlights the paper’s first staff photographer, Fred W. McDarrah, who covered the American counterculture of the 1950s and 60s. Photographers who came to the Voice in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, including Amy Arbus, James Hamilton, Hiroyuki Ito, and Sylvia Plachy, developed their work through their association with the paper, propelling their careers and distinct artistic visions. The exhibition reveals how photography was an integral part of the paper’s spirited outlook on New York and American culture.​

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Image credit: Sylvia Plachy, Carmen Xtravaganza, 1988. © Sylvia Plachy