Glen E. Friedman

Glen E. Friedman
252x300pix Portrait of Glen E. Friedman shot in Tokyo circa 1998 by Taiske Yokoyama
Born	Glen Ellis Friedman
Nationality	American
Known for	Photography

Glen E. Friedman (born 1962) is an American photographer and artist.

Works

Friedman's photographic work has been seen in International publications for more than thirty years, and on record covers for over 25 years. Original prints of his work are in the permanent collection of the Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle, Washington, and private collections worldwide. Friedman is an active political activist, shuns intoxicants, and follows a strict vegan diet.

Glen E. Friedman is considered one of the most important photographers of his generation. He is perhaps best known for his work promoting rebellious artists such as Fugazi, Black Flag, Ice-T, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, The Misfits, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., KRS-One, and Public Enemy, as well as old-school skateboarders such as Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Alan Gelfand, Duane Peters, and Stacy Peralta.

History

Friedman's childhood was largely spent skating in the West Los Angeles schoolyards of the area called "Dogtown." His friends were beginning to be featured in magazines, but he felt the images failed to capture skating's true essence. Though still in junior high school, he thought he could do better.

In the fall of 1976, Friedman discovered an empty pool, and corralled a few friends into riding it so he could take pictures. He showed the results to a freelance SkateBoarder writer he met on the local schoolyard banks, who put the eighth-grader in touch with the editor. They published the first photos Glen submitted as a full-page subscription ad. He soon after became their youngest staff member.

Several years later Friedman began to shoot the punk shows he was attending. Punks such as Black Flag and others received some of their first national and international media documentation through Friedman's work.

Time line

• 1976 - At fourteen years old Glen E. Friedman shoots his first published photograph.

• 1981 - Shoots his first record album cover for The Adolescents on the Frontier label.

• 1982 - Friedman self published his punk "photo-zine" MY RULES. It sold 10,000 copies and was the largest selling 'zine of the era.

• 1983 - Friedman produced Suicidal Tendencies eponymous debut album, which became the biggest selling hardcore punk album of the decade.

• 1985 - Friedman is first introduced to Hip-Hop moguls to be, Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, after creating some memorable Beastie Boys photos, before they were known to the masses. By 1986 Friedman was photographing all the Def Jam artists and relocated back to New York in 1987. His early documentation of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Ice-T, L.L. Cool J and the Beastie Boys brought hip hop to a wider audience.

• 1990 - By this time Friedman's work had achieved fame as record covers for many of the 80's decade finest in hip hop and punk. Many of his photographs are recognized as the subjects' definitive portraits.

• 1994 - Fuck You Heroes is published, a collection of his more well known work spanning 1976 to 1991. Fuck You Heroes looked at the pioneering leaders of the skateboarding, punk, and hip hop subcultures. Its title, though offensive to some, signifies his subjects' heroic rejection of reactionary social standards.

• 1996 - His second book, Fuck You Too: The Extras & More, is published by ConSafos press.

• 1997 - FUCK YOU ALL exhibition is first shown, bringing Friedman's work to major cities around the world. Starting at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, then on to Sydney, Tokyo, Rome, Florence, Milan, Berlin, Stockholm, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Antwerp by spring 2007.

• 1998 - The Idealist is published, the artistic summation of his photography. Diverging greatly from his other books. This title was revised in 2003 to include an additional five years (The Idealist - In My Eyes - 25 Years).

• 2000 - DogTown-The Legend of the Z-Boys, is published, and co-authored with long time friend and mentor C.R. Stecyk III.

• 2002 - Glen's film credit, co-producer and creative consultant, barely touch on the major influence he had on the feature-length documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, which won audience choice award for Best Documentary at Sundance and many other awards at film festivals worldwide.

• 2004 - Friedman created the "Liberty Street Protest" for millions from around the world to see at Ground Zero in New York City. Its provocative anti-war sentiment received attention internationally.

• 2005 - His artistic treatise, Recognize is published.

• 2007 - Friedman scheduled to release Keep Your Eyes Open, a collection of his best photographs of the band Fugazi.

Quotes about Friedman

• "The bottom line is that he was there at the beginning of so much cool stuff in so many different areas it's not funny." - Henry Rollins

• " 'Inspiring people, with integrity and rebelliousness.' For the past quarter century, Friedman has been doing just that." - Los Angeles Times
• "One of the greats of his generation." - The Washington Post

• "The most prolific photographer of his generation." - American Institute of Graphic Arts
• "The esoteric political and aesthetic conscience of his generation." - Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine

• "Outspoken, individual, and the very best at what he does...It's time Friedman was listed alongside Capa, Bresson, and Avedon." - Candy Culture

• "His photos achieve what so many others only aspire to—they show the spiritual within the physical." - LA Weekly

Friedman's Books

• MY RULES, Photozine, self published and distributed, 1982
• Fuck You Heroes, Glen E. Friedman photographs 1976-1991, Burning Flags Press, 1994, ISBN 0-9641916-0-1
• Fuck You Too, The Extras + More Scrapbook - Music and Skating thru> '04, Glen E. Friedman, ConSafos press 1996, updated 2005, ISBN 0-9656535-0-1
• The Idealist, Glen E. Friedman - In My Eyes - 25 Years (1976-2001), Burning Flags Press, 1998, updated 2004, ISBN 0-9641916-5-2
• DOGTOWN-The Legend of the Z-Boys, C.R. Stecyk III & Glen E. Friedman, Burning Flags Press, 2000, ISBN 0-9641916-4-4
• RECOGNIZE, Glen E. Friedman, Burning Flags Press, 2005, ISBN 0-9641916-6-0
• Keep Your Eyes Open, Glen E. Friedman, Burning Flags Press, 2007, ISBN 0-9641916-8-7

Books with significant Friedman contributions (partial listing)

• Total Chaos The Art And Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, Basic Civitas Books, 2007, ISBN 0465009093
• Get in the Van, On the Road With Black Flag by Henry Rollins, 2.13.61 Publications, 1994, ISBN 1880985233
• Declaration of Independents - Snowboarding, Skateboarding & Music-An Intersection of Cultures, Chronicle Books, 2001, ISBN 0811829979
• Def Jam, Inc. - Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, and the Extraordinary Story of the World's Most Influential Hip-Hop Label, One World/Ballantine, 2005, ISBN 034546804X
• JAY-BOY - Classic photographs by Jay Adams stepfather, Kent Sherwood, Concrete Wave Editions, 2006, ISBN 0973528664
• Life and Def - Sex, Drugs, Money, + God by Russel Simmons, Crown, 2001, ISBN 0609606077
• Our Band Could Be Your Life - Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991, Little, Brown, 2001, ISBN 0316063797
• Super X Media Combine, First Point Productions, 2004
• Beautiful Losers - Contemporary Art And Street Culture, D.A.P./Iconoclast, 2005, ISBN 1933045302
• Banned in DC - Photos and Anecdotes from the Dc Punk Underground, Sun Dog Propaganda, 1998, ISBN 0962094404
• Dysfuntional, Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1999 ISBN 1861540531
• The Book of Hip-Hop Cover Art, Mitchell Beazley publisher, 2004, ISBN 1840009195
• Occupying Architecture - Between the Architect and the User, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0415168163
• Tougher than Leather - The Rise of Run-DMC, ConSafos press, 2002, ISBN 0965653560
• The Philosophy Of Punk - More Than Noise, AK Press, ISBN 1873176163
• The Sneaker book, Booth-Clibborn, 1998, ISBN 1861541678
• Five Decades of Rock X-Posed - Attitude In Pictures, Kodak Rock Photography Collection, 2000
• Mix Tape - The Art of Cassette Culture, Universe, 2004, ISBN 0-7893-1199-2
• Stoked - The Evolution of Action Sports, Empire, 2006, ISBN 0977900827

External links

• BURNING FLAGS site dedicated to Glen E. Friedman's Archive and latest information.
• FUCK YOU ALL Documentary short film interview with Glen E. Friedman, Rome, Italy 1998.
• RECOGNIZE short film (based on images from the Burning Flags Press book) photographs by Glen E. Friedman.
• Scene Missing Magazine Interviews Glen E. Friedman
• Exclaim.ca - Sept. 20007 Web Exclusive Interview with Guy Picciotto and Glen E. Friedman