Comments on: Bill Owners - a picture of suburbia

Bill Owners - a picture of suburbia

monju_bosatsu — Wed, 26 May 2004 08:33:40 -0800

Bill Owens has a fascinating series of photographs depicting suburban life in the 1960s and '70s.

By: birdherder

birdherder — Wed, 26 May 2004 08:58:52 -0800

These are great. Totally brought me back to my youth.

By: dobbs

dobbs — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:06:24 -0800

Yeah, they're fantastic. Great titles, too.

By: WolfDaddy

WolfDaddy — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:19:11 -0800

This brings me back to my youth, too, but where's the bowl full of car keys? This always prefaced that, at least in the suburb where I grew up, thus making this an image I find sterile and untrue. So, to sum up, great link, if all these pictures can hit me that hard. 'scuse me, I think I'm gonna go watch The Ice Storm now...

By: DrJohnEvans

DrJohnEvans — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:29:20 -0800

Nifty. Thanks!

By: tommasz

tommasz — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:38:55 -0800

This was the life I lived as a child.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:40:22 -0800

My hobby is drinking. On the weekends I enjoy getting together with my friends and boozing. Who needs friends? Or weekends? Silly suburbanites.

By: sixpack

sixpack — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:41:20 -0800

I'm a fan of Bill's photography, but for my money this was his greatest artistic expression: Alimony Ale, the bitterest beer in America (sadly no longer available outside of the brewpub).

By: matteo

matteo — Wed, 26 May 2004 09:57:19 -0800

sixpack's right -- I thought that Owens had retired from photography to be a brewer. good to see him back (the old work is on the highest level, masterpiece material really, his recent Milan street images are new to me and very very good) also, Sofia Coppola totally ripped Owens off for her Virgin Suicides film. (just like she ripped John Kacere off for Lost In Translation first shot)

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Wed, 26 May 2004 10:00:29 -0800

ripped off = homage (?)

By: matteo

matteo — Wed, 26 May 2004 10:06:39 -0800

heh

By: rafter

rafter — Wed, 26 May 2004 10:44:03 -0800

ripped off = homage (?) IMDB trivia page: "The painting in Charlotte's hotel room in Tokyo was done by John Kacere called "Jutta" (1973). He's a famous photorealist who specialized in women in lingerie." I don't remember a painting in the hotel room, but it seems a pretty obvious tribute. Nice link, mb.

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Wed, 26 May 2004 10:57:21 -0800

This is certainly an iconic image of the times. And the whole site further proof that Americans don't have to travel far to take photos of mysterious, exotic natives and their odd customs.

By: matteo

matteo — Wed, 26 May 2004 11:05:41 -0800

I remember an old story about the barely-out-of-his-teens Bernardo Bertolucci on the set of one of his earliest films (maybe Before the Revolution, I'm not sure). and before shooting a scene he instructs the cinematographer, "let's do it exactly like that Renoir shot I told you about yesterday -- it's an hommage". then, a few days later, "let's light the set exactly like that Rossellini shot -- an hommage to il maestro". then the cinematographer asks Bertolucci, "OK, but what's the difference between omaggio (hommage) and plagio (plagiarism)?"

By: evilbeck

evilbeck — Wed, 26 May 2004 11:51:10 -0800

I recall that his book of suburbia photos has quotes from the people in the photos. Most of them are quite outrageously funny, particularly "sunday afternoon" and "national campers." (he was featured in an art 101 lecture)