Neal Slavin: When Two or More Are Gathered Together
Edited with text by Kevin Moore.
From ballroom dancers to bodybuilders, Slavin’s photographic diary of organizations in ’70s America captures both nuanced group dynamics and larger societal values
In the 1970s, photographer Neal Slavin traveled around the United States documenting groups and gatherings. From bingo players to ballroom dancers, bodybuilders, Star Trek conventions and religious congregations, Slavin photographed seemingly every imaginable organization that humans have dreamed up. While the pictures themselves are most often posed, Slavin has always asked that his subjects arrange themselves in front of the camera, allowing natural hierarchies, group dynamics and indications of status to emerge. Says Slavin of his process, “I walk a delicate line between giving general instructions and allowing the group free rein to express itself while I watch individuals who jockey for position, thrusting a shoulder in front of the next person or wearing the widest smile, while others recede into the background, who are posing only to be a part of something larger—the group. My role is to capture a complete image, incorporating the eccentricities of human behavior that have emerged naturally from the multitude of personalities … I want my work to affirm our self identity within our public persona; to affirm the joy of being together rather than being apart. My intention is to intensely glimpse that kind of human spirit through the lens of my camera.” When Two or More Are Gathered Together is a unique portrait of America itself and its idealistic underpinnings of individuality and liberty, memorialized in the nostalgic photographs of the ’70s, a time far removed both from the present day and from our present psyche. Originally published in 1976 by Farrar Strauss & Giroux, this new expanded edition, edited with text by Kevin Moore, includes group portraits taken over a span of 50 years. Neal Slavin (born 1941) graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture. He has published three photobooks: Portugal (1971), When Two or More Are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the 2001 film Focus, based on Arthur Miller’s novel of the same name.
"North Shore Aquatics Club, Long Island, New York" (1988).
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The Atlantic
Cullen Murphy
The resulting photographs possess rare animation and humor, the subjects’ self-arrangement adding an extra layer of revelation.
The Eye of Photography
Reissue by Damiani of a legendary book published 50 years ago.
BBC
Deborah Nicholls-Lee
Slavin's celebration of togetherness in an increasingly individualistic digital age feels especially relevant.
The New York Times Book Review
Walker Mimms
The last gasp of mutual belonging in this country might have been immortalized in the photographer Neal Slavin's 1976 book 'When Two or More Are Gathered Together,' now reissued with later images.
The Phoblographer
Nilofer Khan
In an era fraught with social, political, and digital unrest, Neal Slavin achieved what we fail to see even today: our strength and harmony in unity. By depicting the ever-evolving social life of America, Slavin highlights the significance of connection, which sometimes divides and other times binds us together.
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Thursday, November 21, from 6–7:30 PM, the Jefferson Market branch of the New York Public Library presents photographer Neal Slavin in conversation with editor Kevin Moore for the launch of the new, expanded edition of When Two or More: Are Gathered Together, published by Damiani Books. The event will take place in the Willa Cather Room, on the first floor of the library, and will be followed by a signing. continue to blog
As Americans begin their annual migration across the country to feast with families, friends and foes, what better inspiration than Neal Slavin’s classic 1976 photobook, When Two or More Are Gathered Together—out now in a new, expanded edition from Damiani. On June 5, 1973, Slavin initated the project with a Memo-to-self. His plan: to document stereotypes and clichés; to understand the relationship of the one to the many; to study peer groups, vanity, frailty and ego. “Possible outcome: When a group presents itself fully to the camera, revealing the totems and markings that make it unique and individual, then that group will simultaneously reveal the innate sensation of belonging. I envision a work that communicates the desire to belong in America in the mid-1970s and the conflicts caused by that wish. In short, I want to photograph groups—they are the American icon.” Featured here, Pugs, New York, New York (1991). See more holiday gift suggestions here! continue to blog
Out now from Damiani, the new, expanded edition of Neal Slavin’s classic 1976 photobook, When Two or More Are Gathered Together, collecting more than 100 photos of groups big and small, scientific, artistic, gastronomic, athletic, etc, etc, etc. … from the 1970s to the present. Pictured here, “Yogis, Los Angeles, California” (1974). Kevin Moore writes, “Certainly, over the last fifty years, the nature of groups has changed—how they organize, how they meet, where they meet, and what they meet for. Much of this activity now happens online, on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. But in many cases, the online realm is a parallel space, a portal of introduction and information that interfaces with in-person assembly. No matter how they form, the reasons for groups have not changed much over time. Groups exist to express common identity, to provide companionship, offer support, and a sense of belonging. Groups also form to preserve, share, agitate, entertain, or simply to escape. In the fractured and often divisive times in which we live, exacerbated by politics, technology, and propaganda, groups have come to provide the social sustenance often missing from traditional outlets, such as jobs and families. Groups, with their processes of arguing, consensus building, and voting, are our common experience of working democracy.” continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 6.5 x 9 in. / 160 pgs. LIST PRICE: U.S. $45.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $65 ISBN: 9788862088299 PUBLISHER: Damiani AVAILABLE: 11/12/2024 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA
Neal Slavin: When Two or More Are Gathered Together
Published by Damiani. Edited with text by Kevin Moore.
From ballroom dancers to bodybuilders, Slavin’s photographic diary of organizations in ’70s America captures both nuanced group dynamics and larger societal values
In the 1970s, photographer Neal Slavin traveled around the United States documenting groups and gatherings. From bingo players to ballroom dancers, bodybuilders, Star Trek conventions and religious congregations, Slavin photographed seemingly every imaginable organization that humans have dreamed up. While the pictures themselves are most often posed, Slavin has always asked that his subjects arrange themselves in front of the camera, allowing natural hierarchies, group dynamics and indications of status to emerge. Says Slavin of his process, “I walk a delicate line between giving general instructions and allowing the group free rein to express itself while I watch individuals who jockey for position, thrusting a shoulder in front of the next person or wearing the widest smile, while others recede into the background, who are posing only to be a part of something larger—the group. My role is to capture a complete image, incorporating the eccentricities of human behavior that have emerged naturally from the multitude of personalities … I want my work to affirm our self identity within our public persona; to affirm the joy of being together rather than being apart. My intention is to intensely glimpse that kind of human spirit through the lens of my camera.”
When Two or More Are Gathered Together is a unique portrait of America itself and its idealistic underpinnings of individuality and liberty, memorialized in the nostalgic photographs of the ’70s, a time far removed both from the present day and from our present psyche. Originally published in 1976 by Farrar Strauss & Giroux, this new expanded edition, edited with text by Kevin Moore, includes group portraits taken over a span of 50 years.
Neal Slavin (born 1941) graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture. He has published three photobooks: Portugal (1971), When Two or More Are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the 2001 film Focus, based on Arthur Miller’s novel of the same name.
