David Levinthal
{{Short description|American photographer}}
{{Infobox artist
| bgcolour =
| name = David Levinthal
| image = David Levinthal by Christopher Michel in 2022 01 (cropped).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Levinthal in 2022
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|3|8}}
| birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.
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| field = Photography
| training = Stanford University (BA)
Yale University (MFA)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS)
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| awards = Guggenheim Fellowship (1995), National Endowment for the Arts (1990–1991)
| website = {{url|www.davidlevinthal.com}}
}}
David Lawrence Levinthal (born March 8, 1949) is an American photographer who lives and works in New York City. He uses small toys and props with dramatic lighting to construct miniature environments for subject matters varying from war scenes to voyeurism to racial and political references to American pop culture.{{Cite web|url=http://www.artnet.com/artists/david-levinthal/biography|title=David Levinthal Biography – David Levinthal on artnet|website=www.artnet.com|access-date=2018-09-26}}
Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), and History (2010–2018).
Biography
Levinthal was born in 1949 in San Francisco, California. He received a Master of Science in Management Science from the MIT Sloan School of Management (1981), an MFA in Photography from Yale University (1973), and a BA in Studio Art from Stanford University (1970). He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1995{{cite web|accessdate=2021-02-06|title=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/david-levinthal/|website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation}} and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990–1991.Diawara, Manthia. David Levinthal: Blackface. Santa Fe: Arena Editions, 1999
He has had retrospective exhibitions of his work at the International Center of Photography and the George Eastman Museum.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastman.org/david-levinthal-war-myth-desire|title=David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire|date=|website=www.eastman.org|access-date=2018-09-26}}
Levinthal has produced a diverse oeuvre, utilizing primarily large-format Polaroid photography.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/arts/design/champion-of-a-polaroid-behemoth-yields-to-the-digital-world.html|title=Champions of a Monster Polaroid Yield to the Digital World|work=The New York Times |date=20 June 2016 |access-date=2018-09-26|language=en |last1=Kennedy |first1=Randy }} His works touch upon many aspects of American culture, from Barbie to baseball to X-rated dolls. Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), and History (2010–2018).[http://www.artfacts.net/index.php/pageType/artistInfo/artist/6648 Nice Boy Shares Toy]
His politically charged series, Blackface, consists of close-ups of black memorabilia, household objects infused with African-American stereotypes, and caused such a controversy that the Institute of Contemporary Art of Philadelphia was forced to cancel the exhibition while still in its early planning stages.{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/photography/1997/02/toys_are_us.html|title=Toys Are Us|last=Benfey|first=Christopher|date=1997-02-20|work=Slate|access-date=2018-09-26|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}
On his use of toys, Levinthal said that "Toys are intriguing, and I want to see what I can do with them. On a deeper level, they represent one way that society socializes its young."{{Cite news|url=https://sjmusart.org/exhibition/david-levinthal-make-believe|title=Exhibitions + Collection|date=2014-04-03|work=San José Museum of Art|access-date=2018-09-26|language=en}} Furthermore, Levinthal is aware of the power of toys: “Ever since I began working with toys, I have been intrigued with the idea that these seemingly benign objects could take on such incredible power and personality simply by the way they were photographed. I began to realize that by carefully selecting the depth of field and making it narrow, I could create a sense of movement and reality that was in fact not there.Hallanan, Blake. "[http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/sepoct/articles/toy_story.html Toy Story]"
Books
File:David Levinthal by Christopher Michel in 2022 03.jpg
- Hitler Moves East: A Graphic Chronicle, 1941–43 (Sheed, Andrews & McMeel, 1977). Published with Garry Trudeau.
- The Wild West (Smithsonian Institution, 1993). Text by Richard B. Woodward.
- Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box (Smithsonian Institution, 1995). Text by David Corey.
- Barbie Millicent Roberts (Pantheon, 1998). Text by Valerie Steele.
- Mein Kampf (Twin Palms, 1998). Texts by James Young, Roger Rosenblatt, and Gary Trudeau.
- Blackface (Arena Editions, 1999). Text by Manthia Diawara.
- XXX (Galerie Xippas, 2000). Text by Cecilia Andersson.
- David Levinthal: Modern Romance (St. Ann's, 2001). Text by Eugenia Parry.
- Netsuke (Galerie Xippas, 2004). Text by Eugenia Parry.
- David Levinthal: Work from 1975-1996 (International Center of Photography, 1997). Texts by Charles Stainback and Richard Woodward.
- Baseball (Empire, 2006). Text by Jonathan Mahler.
- I.E.D: War in Afghanistan and Iraq (powerHouse, 2009). Text by Levinthal.
- Bad Barbie (JMc & GHB Editions, 2009). Texts by Richard Prince and John McWhinnie.
- Hitler Moves East: A Graphic Chronicle, 1941-43: 35th Anniversary Edition (Andrews McMeel, 2013). Texts by Roger Rosenblatt and Garry Trudeau.
- War Games (Kehrer, 2013). Texts by Dave Hickey, Paul Roth, and Kaitlin Booher.
- History (Kehrer, 2015). Texts by Lisa Hostetler and Dave Hickey.
- War, Myth, Desire: Box Set (Kehrer, 2018). Texts by Lisa Hostetler, Joanna Marsh, Dave Hickey, Garry Trudeau, Levinthal, and Roger Rosenblatt.
- War, Myth, Desire (Kehrer, 2018). Texts by Lisa Hostetler, Joanna Marsh, Dave Hickey.
Collections
Levinthal's work is held in the following permanent collections:
- Art Institute of Chicago{{Cite web |title=David Levinthal |url=https://www.artic.edu/artists/43694/david-levinthal |website=Art Institute of Chicago|date=1949 }}
- Centre Pompidou in Paris{{Cite web |title=David Levinthal |url=https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/ressources/personne/crgLeE |access-date= |website=Centre Pompidou |language=en-EN}}
- National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web |title=David Levinthal |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.39120.html |access-date= |website=National Gallery of Art}}
- Metropolitan Museum of Art{{Cite web |title=Results for "David Levinthal" |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=David+Levinthal |access-date= |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}
- Minneapolis Institute of Art{{Cite web |title=Cavalry Charge with Bugler, 1987 |url=http://collections.artsmia.org/art/28084/cavalry-charge-with-bugler-david-levinthal |access-date=2021-02-06 |website=Minneapolis Institute of Art}}
- Museum of Modern Art{{Cite web |title=David Levinthal |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/7011 |website=Museum of Modern Art}}
- Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City{{Cite web |title=David Levinthal |url=https://whitney.org/artists/3902 |access-date= |website=Whitney Museum of American Art |language=en}}
References
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External links
- {{Official website|www.davidlevinthal.com}}
- [http://www.julienestergallery.com/david-levinthal-bio/ David Levinthal at Julie Nester Gallery]
- [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/pr351_david_levinthal/ David Levinthal photographs] at [http://www.nyhistory.org/library New-York Historical Society]
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Category:Photographers from California
Category:Photographers from New York (state)
Category:MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
Category:American fine art photographers