Richard Misrach: Berkeley Work , on view in Gallery 2, presents two photographic series by this internationally recognized Berkeley-based artist. The first is a rarely seen early suite excerpted from his first book, Telegraph 3 AM . These black-and-white photographs document the street people of Telegraph Avenue in the early 1970s and a counterculture confronted by the harsh realities of street life. The subject and style of Telegraph 3 AM reflect the young Misrach's idealism and admiration for such photographers as Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. Thirty years later, Misrach turned his camera to the sublime view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco as seen from the front porch of his house in the Berkeley hills. Large, lush images - the thirty on view are drawn from over seven hundred - record the ever-changing conditions of light and color that bathe the bay and the bridge. Misrach's concerns, however, go beyond the beauty of the view to the history and politics of place, as expounded by UC Berkeley professors T. J. Clark and Richard Walker in the accompanying book, Richard Misrach: Golden Gate , available, along with other of Misrach's books, in the Museum Store. Richard Misrach: Berkeley Work will be the featured exhibition in our fall issue, along with a schedule of public programs and gallery tours.
