Glen E. Friedman :: The Idealist
March 6 - April 10, 2004

Sixspace is honored to announce the world premiere exhibition of The Idealist by Glen E. Friedman. The five-week show opens on March 6, 2004. This collection of photographs from 25 years (1976 - 2001) of Friedman’s work concentrates on his visual aesthetic and is the public introduction to his striking fine-art photography. Though he continues a heavy focus on both imagery and message, only a few of his traditional photographs of legendary people in the hip-hop, punk and skate communities will be recognized. The Idealist traces Friedman's development as a fine-artist as his subject matter includes a breathtaking international scope of landscapes, still life, and documentary. New and old fans of his work will be delighted to see his capacity to capture essential moments of most anything he sets his eyes on, to help us open ours.

In conjunction with this exhibition, the new book version of The Idealist - In My Eyes - 25 Years will officially be released worldwide. The opening reception will also celebrate this second updated and revised printing that features a new format and photographs along with new original words contributed by Rev. Al Sharpton, Cornel West, and Ralph Nader.

Glen E. Friedman is an incredibly prolific photographer. His images of the early DogTown skateboarders published in his teen years in the 1970s along with the burgeoning punk rock and hip-hop scenes of the 1980s has made him one of the most important photographers of his generation. With the uncanny ability to capture images of people whose subculture was about to change the world, Friedman has been able to define the moments of the movements that defined an era like no one else. This has cemented his place in history as an uncompromising, extremely gifted artist. His previous exhibition collection of photographs, Fuck You All, has been shown worldwide. Friedman has published the books Fuck You Heroes, Fuck You Too, and The Idealist, all of which are in multiple pressings. In 2002, he collaborated with mentor C.R. Stecyk III to release DogTown - The Legend of the Z-Boys, which was the inspiration for the award winning documentary film DogTown and Z-Boys that Friedman co-produced. The Idealist will mark Friedman’s third solo show with sixspace.