Coming of Age in America - Joseph Szabo

As suggested in the title, photographer Joseph Szabo has photographed teenagers in America. For my project I would like to focus on the youths and what they are doing during the pandemic. Szabo's photography is a great inspiration, the images are a raw portrayal of the youth in America around the1970's and 80's. By the looks of the images he has managed to stay as invisible as possible which is what I would like to do. There are images that shows inappropriate scenes, hey are things teenagers do away from their parents. It is not just the activities that he has captured, there are also strong emotions of what it must be to be a teenager at that point in time or simply just showing how every person feels during their younger years. It feels as if the images Szabo has taken are usually portrayed in movies set in the 80's but seeing these images that are actually from that period makes it feel more real. I would like to achieve the same feeling, to be able to show my images to the future generation and say 'this is it, this is how it felt and looked'. Joseph Szabo was inspired by his students from when he was an art teacher and he has also mentioned that he was looking for the emotional aspect. He wanted to show who the people are and I think he has mastered it beautifully, as someone who is probably the age of the teens in the pictures I can relate to the feelings. Images were taken in schools, parking lots, street corners, beaches and parties. Unfortunately, I would not be able to visit many locations because of restrictions but I am very hopeful to still translate the message. 
Priscilla (Szabo, 1969)

Marianne and Mary Kay (Szabo, 1976)

Jesse at Jones Beach (Szabo, 1983)



Citations:

Bicker, P., 2012. Coming of Age in America: The Photography of Joseph Szabo. [online] Time. Available at: <https://time.com/3784873/coming-of-age-in-america-the-photography-of-joseph-szabo/> [Accessed 10 February 2021].

Szabo, J., 1969. Priscilla. [image] Available at: <https://time.com/3784873/coming-of-age-in-america-the-photography-of-joseph-szabo/> [Accessed 10 February 2021].

Szabo, J., 1976. Marianne and Mary Kay. [image] Available at: <https://time.com/3784873/coming-of-age-in-america-the-photography-of-joseph-szabo/> [Accessed 10 February 2021].

Szabo, J., 1983. Jesse at Jones Beach. [image] Available at: <https://time.com/3784873/coming-of-age-in-america-the-photography-of-joseph-szabo/> [Accessed 10 February 2021].



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