MAKOS POLAROIDS

Clic Gallery East Hampton is proud to present the summer show CHRISTOPHER MAKOS POLAROIDS. The show will run from August 3rd until September 6th, 2010 at Clic's East Hampton location on Newtown Lane.

There will be an opening reception on Sunday, August 7th from 6 to 8 pm. Makos will be at the opening reception to sign copies of the accompanying photobook, CHRISTOPHER MAKOS POLAROIDS (published by Photology), which features an introduction by Calvin Klein.

CHRISTOPHER MAKOS was a seminal figure in the 1980s New York art scene, and his photographs have been published in Interview, Rolling Stone, Esquire and New York Magazine. Makos was a close friend and frequent collaborator of ANDY WARHOL, and is the author of WARHOL/MAKOS IN CONTEXT, ANDY IN CHINA, and the upcoming LADY WARHOL.

The Clic exhibit is a series of vintage 24 SX-70 Polaroids snapped by Makos in the late 70s to the early 80s. The beautiful, dreamy, colorful shots--of friends and lovers, of interesting still lives, and even celebrities like Debbie Harry, John Kennedy, Jr. and Warhol himself-- are the perfect reminder of the recklessly happy spirit of the time. In his introduction to the book, CALVIN KLEIN writes "What I love about Christopher's Polaroid's is that they're a potent relic of a very specific era...what a time of incredible energy and excess! People were out all night, Studio 54 was packed, New York was where it was all happening and going out was frenetic, exciting and very, very fun. In many ways, although this may seem like a contradiction, it was also a time of greater innocence, and that's what these pictures capture."

For print sales, contact the gallery at easthampton@clicgallery.com

For press inquiries, contact Angharad Coates at acoates@clicgallery.com

What I love about Christopher's Polaroid's is that they're a potent relic of a very specific era -- the 70's and early 80's. What a time of incredible energy and excess! People were out all night, Studio 54 was packed, New York was where it was all happening and going out was frenetic, exciting and very, very fun. In many ways, although this may seem like a contradiction, it was also a time of greater innocence, and that's what these pictures capture.

SX 70s existed before cell phones, texting and tweeting ... all the amazing advances that have enriched life but have also chipped away at our sense of privacy. SX 70s were passed around at parties and people just had fun with them. It was all about immediacy and instant gratification. No one was afraid of being photographed back then because it was more likely a picture would end up in the back of someone's drawer than on Facebook, You Tube or the front page. So people were free, spontaneous, a little exhibitionistic. They let their guard down, they were intimate, maybe even a little outrageous. Nobody worried too much about consequences. There was a sort of shared promise that things could remain a secret.

And then there's the raw and beautiful quality of the images. They're unposed, unretouched, not art directed, very real - like a visual diary of Christopher's life. There's no master plan here, no artifice, nothing complicated or slick or tricky, just a very immediate, in your face look at the friends, the lovers, the places ... anything that caught his attention or captured his imagination. It's in some ways a very pure form of self-expression, and so personal. You wonder what the story is behind the picture, what happened after the camera was put down. There's a sort of uncomplicated poetry to these pictures that I find very moving.

You can see the seeds of Christopher's later work being planted in this book. Here, what was to develop into his edgy, black and white, documentary style is still rougher, sweeter, more innocent. There's a warmth to the colors of the Polaroid's that's so evocative of that time, but for me is also symbolic of Christopher's affection for his subjects. You can feel his curiosity about the medium of photography, his learning how to take pictures, his making visual notes about what excites his eye. But for all the innocence, I can also see very clearly the certainty of composition, the clarity of angles and the power of the work yet to come. In these images, I see the young photographer taking his first tentative steps toward mastery.

Calvin Klein nyc July 22, 2009

Christopher Makos - Interview Magazine

Clic Gallery And Catherine Malandrino Present The Opening Of Christopher Makos 'Polaroids' - Southampton, NY