sock monkeys

The S K Josefsberg Studio is pleased to present New York photographer
Arne Svenson's latest series Sock Monkeys, on view at the gallery July 18 - August 31, 2002.

In 1985 Ron Warren began collecting sock monkeys—those icons of American thrift and inventiveness that have for generations been fashioned as toys from a pair of red-heeled work socks. Years later he met photographer Arne Svenson, who, intrigued by the size and obsessive nature of the collection, began with equal obsession to document every one of the more than 1,800 examples. To convey the distinct personality of each monkey, Svenson photographed them in the manner of classical black-and-white portraiture: lit from the front, cropped to the shoulders, eyes to the camera.

—Introduction to sock monkeys (200 out of 1,863)

New York photographer Arne Svenson is known (or infamous) for his off-kilter deadpan images. Based on a innate sense of curiosity, Svenson's work is conceptual in nature. His most renown series, Las Vegas, is an ongoing fascination with the convention capital, its over-embellishment and fantastical flamboyance. In the group of work that followed the birth of the Las Vegas series, Svenson found himself intrigued by the process of nature. In this visual experiment he illustrated his attempt to alter/interfere/manipulate the growth process of flora and fauna by severing & then suturing domesticated botanicals, from lilies to leaf lettuce. Following the untitled botanical series, Svenson photographed the anomalous clinical objects of the Mütter Museum—another project illustrating his awe of organic deviation.

Arne Svenson's photographs have been widely exhibited throughout the United States and Europe, and shown with particular regularity at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Svenson has several publications to his credit, including Prisoners, "a collection of seventy extraordinary portraits of late [19th and early 20th] century prisoners and the fascinating newspaper and prison accounts from their day describing the crimes of which they were accused."

The images by Arne Svenson featured in this exhibition are the premise for the forthcoming publication sock monkeys (200 out of 1,863), destined for bookstore shelves Spring 2003.

Preview Reception
Wednesday July 31, 2002 - 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

First Thursday Reception
August 1, 2002 - 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.