Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Felver, Christopher, 1946-
- Abstract:
- This collection is comprised of eighteen portraits of Beat Generation luminaries and seven poets, writers, and artists photographed by Christopher Felver between the years 1980 and 2001. The portraits are presented as silver gelatin prints and include such subjects as: Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, William S. Burroughs, Susan Sontag, Amiri Baraka, and Edward Kienholz .
- Extent:
- 1 box [25 silver gelatin photographic prints] (.5 linear ft.)
- Language:
- Finding aid is written in English. and Materials are in English.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection consists of eighteen portraitures of Beat Generation personalities taken by the photographer Christopher Felver and seven portraits of artists, writers, and poets. Each of the twenty-five photographs is a silver gelatin print, varying in size. These portraits were taken between the years 1980 and 2011. While some of the portraits are posed, many of the images are candid shots. Oft times, the subjects are featured in locations infused with Beat mythology – for example, City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, California. Subjects highlighted in this collection include: Charles and Linda Bukowski, William S. Burroughs, Carolyn Cassady, Gregory Corso, Agneta Falk, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Hirschman, Ted Joans, Bob Kaufman, Jan Kerouac, Ken Kesey and Peter Orlovsky.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Christopher Felver is an American-born photographer and filmmaker living in Sausalito, California. Felver was raised in Akron, Ohio. He majored in history at the University of Miami and studied film at the London College of Photography. He is best known for his portraiture photography, particularly, his photographs of Beat Generation personalities Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, William Burroughs and Gregory Corso. Felver has shown solo photographic exhibitions at the Torino Fotografia Biennale Internazionale in Torino, Italy in 1989; the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France in 1994; Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, California in 2002; and the Robert Berman Gallery in Los Angeles, California in 2007. In addition to being a prolific photographer, Felver has produced several acclaimed films including West Coast: Beat and Beyond (1984); John Cage Talks about Cows (1987); The Coney Island of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1996); Donald Judd's Marfa Texas (1998); and Cecil Taylor: All the Notes (2006). His films have been screened at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, The New York Public Library and the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Felver's books include The Late Great Allen Ginsberg; Seven Days in Nicaragua Libre; The Poet Exposed; Ferlinghetti Portrait; Angels, Anarchists and Gods; The Importance of Being; and Beat.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase and gift of Christopher Felver, 2007.
- Arrangement:
-
The prints are arranged chronologically by the date the photograph was captured. Within this chronological order, where there are multiple prints sharing a date, the prints are arranged alphabetically by last name of subject.
- Physical location:
- Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.
- Rules or conventions:
- Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988