Fuck You Heroes : Glen E. Friedman Photographs, 1976-1991 - Hardcover

Glen E. Friedman

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Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0964191601 ISBN 13: 9780964191600

Publisher: Burning Flags/Consafos Press,US, 1998

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Now in it's second printing, Fuck You Heroes is photographer Glen E. Friedman's uncompromising look at the radicals of youth culture in the extreme worlds of skateboarding, punk and rap. From day one behind his camera, Friedman has had an unerring ability to be in the right place ahead of everybody else. He was a teenaged photographer for 'Thrasher' and 'Skateboarder' magazines, he created the seminal one-hit punk fanzine 'My Rules', worked with Black Flag and Suicidal Tendencies in their early days, wrote for Maximum Rock & Roll, did street promotion for Def Jam's west coast office and shot sleeve photos for everyone from Minor Threat to Public Enemy. This book presents the photographic distillation of Glen's ethic: it's about the perfect shots of the people who live by the touchstones of intensity and integrity.

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About the Author:

Glen E. Friedman's captivating images demonstrate his remarkable eye for raw reality, talent and aesthetic beauty. He is the most important photographer of his generation. Friedman's childhood was largely spent skating in the legendary West L.A. schoolyards of the area called "DogTown." His friends were beginning to be featured in magazines, but Friedman felt the images failed to capture skating's true essence. Though still in junior high school, he thought he could do better.In the fall of 1976, Friedman discovered an empty pool, and corralled a few guys into riding it so he could take pictures. He showed the results to a freelance SkateBoarder writer he met on the local schoolyard banks, who put the eighth-grader in touch with the editor. They published the first photos Glen submitted as a full-page subscription ad. He soon after became their youngest staff member.Several years later Friedman began to shoot the punk shows he was attending. Glen was passionately loyal to his subjects, and relentlessly devoted to winning them exposure. Proto-punks such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and others received some of their first national and international media documentation through Friedman's work.In 1982 Friedman self published his "photo-zine" MY RULES. It sold 10,000 copies and was the largest selling 'zine of the era.In 1983 Friedman produced Suicidal Tendencies first album, which became the biggest selling hardcore punk album of the decade.After Friedman created some of the most memorable Beastie Boys photos before they were known to the masses, he was introduced to Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons. By 1985, Friedman was photographing all the DEF JAM artists and relocated back to New York in 1987. His early documentation of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Ice-T, L.L. Cool J and the Beasties brought Hip-Hop to a wider audience. His work achieved fame as record covers for many of the decades finest in Hip-Hop and Punk. Many of his photographs are recognized as the subjects' definitive portraits.By 1994, Friedman had published Fuck You Heroes on his Burning Flags Press imprint. A collection of his work spanning 1976 to 1991, "Heroes" looked at the pioneering leaders of the Skateboarding, Punk and Hip-Hop subcultures. Its title, though offensive to some, signifies his subjects' heroic rejection of reactionary social standards. His second book, Fuck You Too: The Extras & More, was published in 1996.His FUCK YOU ALL exhibition brought Friedman's work to major cities around the world. Starting at the "Institute of Contemporary Art" in London, then on to Sydney, Tokyo, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.In 1998, Glen published The Idealist: In My Eyes 20 Years, the artistic summation of his photography. Diverging greatly from his other books. This title was revised in 2003 to include an additional five years.In 2000, The book, DogTown - The Legend Of The Z-Boys, was co-authored with C.R. Stecyk III, and edited and designed by Friedman. Glen's film credit, co-producer and creative consultant, barely touch on the major influence he had on the feature-length documentary DogTown and Z-Boys, which won audience choice award for Best Documentary at Sundance and other festivals.A consummate artist and political activist, he shuns intoxicants, and follows a strict vegan diet.In 2004 Friedman created the "Liberty Street Protest" for millions from around the world to see at Ground Zero in New York City. It's provocative anti-war sentiment received attention worldwide.In 2005 his new book Recognize will be released.In 2006 the first major American museum retrospective of all his work will be shown at the South Eastern Center for Contemporary Art in North Carolina, the same state in which he was born.

From the Inside Flap:

It's all about energy. There are infinite means and methods, but with the best in any field, it is energy that is the constant. It's what makes the great stuff great, and the rest stand to the side. Perhaps the truest characteristic of human nature is the need to push it further than the last bunch did. Sometimes it's the only reason I can find for getting up in the morning. The ones who feel the need to break through barriers, who have nothing but contempt for limitations and average expectations; this book captures them in their element.Glen E. Friedman has been capturing outbursts of energy for nearly two decades. I knew Glen's work well before I met him. All my friends andI used to stare at his photos in skate magazines and wonder how he got that shot at that moment. After knowing Glen for over 13 years, I understand how he does it. Glen is an energy addict. He captured the peak era of the original heavy "Dogtown" street skaters. He worked on the first Black Flag video. He produced the first Suicidal Tendencies album. He intoduced me to the Beastie Boys when they only had a 7" single out. He gave me a tape of Public Enemy when Chuck D was DJ'ing in college. He documented the rise of the mighty Def Jam label and some of the musicians who changed the face of music forever. The bottom line is he was there at the beginning of so much stuff it's not funny.Art meets action. Art becomes action. There are no admitted heroes here. Just those who have and know what to do with it. It's all about energy. Glen works on instinct. He gets it, he's got it. The photos contained here are the evidence. (Henry Rollins, 1994)

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