Witness Allen Ginsberg's Intimate Chronicle of the Beat Generation in Muses & Self @ Fahey/Klein in Los Angeles

Arthur Miller, William H. Gass, Hotel Royal Elevator, Copenhagen, November 1985 ©Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Muses & Self: Photographs by Allen Ginsberg is an exhibition of Ginsberg's personal photographs balances our understanding of the public, outspoken poet and most prominent figure of the Beat Generation at Fahey/Klein Gallery. At his core, Allen Ginsberg was a witness and chronicler of the world; his profound admiration for the beauty of the vernacular, intense observation, and celebration of the present moment guided his photography and poetry. The photographs included in this exhibition are joyful, often tender, sometimes profound while at other times humorous—and capture Ginsberg’s numerous meaningful relationships.

Muses & Self is on view through September 23 @ Fahey/Klein, 148 N La Brea, Los Angeles

David Hockney & Larry Rivers, Henry Geldzahler's funeral, Long Island, August, 18,1994 ©Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Georgio Armani & Francesco Clemente, at Clemente's studio, February 5, 1993 ©Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of FaheyKlein Gallery, Los Angeles

Keith Haring Ginsberg Portrait Lawrence, Kansas, September 11, 1987 ©Allen Ginsberg, courtesy of Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Theophanies Explores The Late Steven Arnold's Personal Mythologies @ Fahey/Klein In Los Angeles

Boys Pieta, 1990 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Virgin of Paste, 1982-83 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Allure of the Cosmic, 1987 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Ballet Boys (Brother Arc), 1989 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Dawn's Grotto of Possibilities;  They'd Been Fooling with the  Columns of Figures, 1991
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Dressed for Dali, 1987 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Heal-a-zation Swathe a la Glob  Ba, 1985
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

High Priestess of Mirrors, 1990 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Return of Christ, 1990 
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Transmitigating Inspiration,  1986
© Steven Arnold, courtesy of  Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles

Realized between 1981 and 1993, Steven Arnold’s tableau photography represents a confluence of his myriad other disciplines. This modality allowed him the freedom to fully realize his cinematic visions without outside influence or compromise. After sketching storyboards inspired by his dreams, a habit from his filmmaking days, Arnold would craft his tableaus using cardboard, seamless paper, metallic and patterned fabrics, cut paper, paint, and selections from his obsessive collection of antiques, costumes, makeup, and dime store finds. Finally, he would dress, paint, and pose his models within his tableau, bringing his vision to life, then captured with his Hasselblad, often utilizing multiple exposures. 

Theophanies is an exhibition of works curated as a limited retrospective of the late artist’s surrealist tableau photographs, supported by a small selection of drawings, paintings, sculpture, and films. A proud, prominent member of the LGBTQ community years before this moniker became part of our common vernacular, Arnold sadly died of AIDS in 1994. Most recently, he is the subject of a documentary, Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies, co-narrated by Anjelica Huston and Ellen Burstyn, which will be screened on September 21 at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Vishnu Dass, writer/editor Steffie Nelson, writer/filmmaker Jessica Hundley (The Library of Esoterica) and Nicholas Fahey of Fahey/Klein Gallery.

Theophanies is on view through September 24 @ Fahey/Klein Gallery 148 North La Brea Avenue