Exhibition: Stephen Bulger Gallery – Danny Lyon – The Bikeriders

TORONTO, May 1, 2013 /CNW/ –
Exhibition Dates: May 11 – June 15, 2013
Opening Reception: Saturday, May 11, 2-5pm“The Bikeriders” features a selection of photographs by Danny Lyon, one of the most important documentary photographers and filmmakers to come of age in the 1960s, which chronicle the activities of the motorcycle world from 1963 to 1967. Lyon documented the life of the American bikerider in the Midwest from the seat of his Triumph motorcycle, equipped with a Nikon, a Rolleiflex and a seven-pound portable tape recorder.  In 1968, his photographs were published in the landmark book, The Bikeriders, which not only launched his career, but also introduced motorcycle counterculture to mainstream America, paving the way for the film Easy Rider.

Writing in The Photobook: A History, Vol. I, photographer Martin Parr remarked,
“…The Bikeriders, an important and influential work, was one of the first books to bring a new genre to late twentieth-century photography, a genre that became more central as the century progressed… Lyon photographed communities from the inside, making them an integral part of his life for the duration of the project, and even afterwards… The Bikeriders represented a significant step in 1960s American photography, not only launching an important photographic career, but also giving a younger generation of photographers a spokesman of their own age… Lyon was part of the generation he was photographing, so was able to talk with an authentic voice about his subjects, understanding instinctively not only their hopes and aspirations, but also why they were rebelling against all kinds of adult authority.”