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Brooke Alexander, Inc.
Robert Longo: The Threat Is Real
Robert Longo: The Threat Is Real
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Robert Longo is best known for his “Men In The Cities” series. In these stark images, men and women contort themselves in various positions against a white background. Their business attire is vaguely indicative of status: they look as though they are bankers, lawyers or politicians. They appear cold and urbane, while their movements feel as if they are being wounded, or abused. We, the viewers, somehow do not seem to mind.
The figures of this series are iconic for Longo, and for the Pictures Generation of artists that he is associated with. They are cinematic, almost balletic. This makes sense, given Longo’s explorations as a director of feature films and music videos for bands such as R.E.M. and New Order. Over the years, Longo’s “Men In The City” images have been used to make silent statements in films like “American Psycho.” One of the prints Longo published with Brooke Alexander (Arena Brains, 1986) was chosen for the cover of Anthony Burgess’ book A Clockwork Orange.
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Image: Robert Longo "Frank and Glen"
“Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses to be bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?”
― Anthony Burgess, "A Clockwork Orange"
Brooke Alexander, Inc., New York
Robert Longo, Men In The Cities Photographs, Frank and Glen
Robert Longo, Men In The Cities Photographs, Edmund
Robert Longo
Robert Longo is a major American artist known for his large format charcoal drawings, as well as for his work in printmaking, film, video, music and photography. At the core of Longo’s imagery is the nature of threat. Through his work the artist seeks out, documents and explores those things in life that can harm us, but in a way that balances their power with their beauty. His subjects have ranged from animals to weapons of war to Nature itself.
