Jona Frank: High School
September 23 November 27, 2004
Press Release
In the spirit of photographer August Sander, Jona Frank sets out to record the social dynamic of the American public high school by examining the adolescent social experience. For three years, Frank visited high schools across the United States, exploring the layered cliques, stereotypes and personalities that grow during the social experiment of high school.
Innocent, revealing and fresh, this series of color portraits from High School capture a turbulent period of experimentation and role-playing many teenagers confront as they attempt to find their place in the social landscape. The range of these expressive uniforms that Frank uncovers, from the Cheerleader to the Chess Clubber to the X-File Fan serve as a microcosm for a society at large.
Through her photographs we discover a revealing search for identity and the battle with conformity.
Frank’s portraits can evoke a sense of the familiar, connecting the viewer with the universal high school experience while evincing the freshness and individuality of today’s teenager. The result is a perpetual, timeless and oddly recognizable return to high school.
Coinciding with her exhibition, Arenas Street Publishing will release High School with a special forward by Gus Van Sant.
Contact Michael Foley for press visuals: info@foleygallery.com
Michael Foley opens Foley Gallery this fall after 15 years of working with notable photography galleries including Fraenkel Gallery, Howard Greenberg Gallery and Yancey Richardson Gallery. He is on the faculty of the International Center of Photography, New School University and the School of Visual Arts where he teaches and lectures on issues in contemporary photography.