In 1968 a young aspiring Broadway actor, Bob Barry, aka Bob Horowitz, and his wife went to the Museum of Modern Art to attend the exhibit of a much talked about and controversial photographer, Diane Arbus.
The power of Arbus' images so profoundly affected them that Mr. Barry wrote Arbus a letter of appreciation that so impressed Arbus that she personally called Mr. Barry and thanked him for his kind thoughts. It also generated an invitation to come and visit her in her studio in Greenwich Village. It was an offer Mr. Barry immediately took advantage of which, in turn, led to a friendship which produced "hours of wonderful conversations on a whole range of subjects." Arbus also visited Bob and his wife at their apartment on the Upper West Side where she took many photos of them and their friends.
During this period of their acquaintance Arbus was offered the opportunity to participate in a major ad campaign for the German lens maker Zeiss-Icon. "The Ad as I recall was In Popular Photography and other magazines as well. The ad went something along the line of "5 Of the worlds Greatest Photographers on the new Zeiss Icon Cameras."
Arbus was conflicted about her reputation as a serious artist representing the commercial/corporate side of the art world and told Bob that she would only do it if he agreed to model for the ad. Of course, Bob was more than happy to help out his friend, and off they went on their adventure where Arbus photographed Bob in various familiar and unknown locales in New York City.
Arbus submitted her roll of sixteen 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 slide film to the directors for their review, and shortly after she was informed about their selection, compensated and the fifteen rejected original slides were returned to her. The ad campaign had a huge launch in New York City, "I recall being told that there was a huge blowup of Diane's photo of me, maybe 15 0r 20 ft high, at the old coliseum on 59th St. during the photography convention in late 69 or early 70." As a sign of her gratitude, Arbus made a gift of the fifteen original slides to Mr. Barry.
In July of 2007 Flazh!Alley Art Studio had the distinction of being the first gallery in the world to present this iconic series of never before seen Arbus portraits to a new generation of art aficionados and patrons.
Flazh!Alley Art studio, 1113 S. Pacific Ave., Suite B, San Pedro, CA
In 1968 a young aspiring Broadway actor, Bob Barry, aka Bob Horowitz, and his wife went to the Museum of Modern Art to attend the exhibit of a much talked about and controversial photographer, Diane Arbus.
The power of Arbus' images so profoundly affected them that Mr. Barry wrote Arbus a letter of appreciation that so impressed Arbus that she personally called Mr. Barry and thanked him for his kind thoughts. It also generated an invitation to come and visit her in her studio in Greenwich Village. It was an offer Mr. Barry immediately took advantage of which, in turn, led to a friendship which produced "hours of wonderful conversations on a whole range of subjects." Arbus also visited Bob and his wife at their apartment on the Upper West Side where she took many photos of them and their friends.
During this period of their acquaintance Arbus was offered the opportunity to participate in a major ad campaign for the German lens maker Zeiss-Icon. "The Ad as I recall was In Popular Photography and other magazines as well. The ad went something along the line of "5 Of the worlds Greatest Photographers on the new Zeiss Icon Cameras."
Arbus was conflicted about her reputation as a serious artist representing the commercial/corporate side of the art world and told Bob that she would only do it if he agreed to model for the ad. Of course, Bob was more than happy to help out his friend, and off they went on their adventure where Arbus photographed Bob in various familiar and unknown locales in New York City.
Arbus submitted her roll of sixteen 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 slide film to the directors for their review, and shortly after she was informed about their selection, compensated and the fifteen rejected original slides were returned to her. The ad campaign had a huge launch in New York City, "I recall being told that there was a huge blowup of Diane's photo of me, maybe 15 0r 20 ft high, at the old coliseum on 59th St. during the photography convention in late 69 or early 70." As a sign of her gratitude, Arbus made a gift of the fifteen original slides to Mr. Barry.
In July of 2007 Flazh!Alley Art Studio had the distinction of being the first gallery in the world to present this iconic series of never before seen Arbus portraits to a new generation of art aficionados and patrons.
Flazh!Alley Art studio, 1113 S. Pacific Ave., Suite B, San Pedro, CA
310-833-3633 - flazhalley@aol.com - www.flazhalleystudio.com