Photography of Danny Lyon

Benny, Grand and Division, Chicago Sunday I was turned on to the photography of Danny Lyon by Crizti from WTAR. During one of our breaks she mentioned it and then pulled this link from a web site featuring his work. What follows is part of a bio of Danny Lyon pulled for the web.

Self-taught in photography, Danny Lyon studied history at the University of Chicago, where he received a BA in 1963. That same year he joined the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee as a photographer documenting the U.S. civil-rights movement.

Since that time, Lyons has gained recognition as a photographer, filmmaker, and writer. His talents have been acknowledged by the Guggenheim Foundation, which awarded him a fellowship in photography in 1969 and another, in film, a decade later; by one-person exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona; and by numerous publications and awards.

The 123 works in the Bell Gallery collection are taken from two of Lyon's best-known works: The Bikeriders . Working in the style called "New Journalism" - that is, by immersing himself and becoming a participant in a giving subject - Lyon photographed motorcyclist in the Midwest from 1963 and 1967. He became a member of the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club, traveled with them, and shared their lifestyle. The series, described by Lyon as "an attempt to record and glorify the life of the American bikerider," was immensely popular and influential in the 1960s and 1970s.




Memorial Day run, Milwaukee

Route 12, Wisconsin 1963

For more of Danny's photography click here

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