Robert Longo’s drawings bring us closer to the images that haunt our collective unconscious. Ironically, his ‘Men in the Cities’ (1979-1983) series has achieved exactly that. The images of contorted bodies in "urban uniforms and Film Noir attire" have ricocheted through culture for decades, finding unsettling parallels in reality. At the core of Robert’s practice is an inquiry into how images become symbols – taking on political, cultural, and metaphysical significance in the social imaginary. Each series interrogates a specific theme or visual motif, such as waves crashing (Monsters, 2000-202...
Bio
Robert Longo was born in 1953 in New York, where he lives and works today.
Pictures Generation
Robert befriended fellow student Cindy Sherman while at art school. The pair moved to Manhattan in 1977, and became part of a movement called the ‘Pictures Generation’ alongside artists like Richard Prince and Louise Lawler. Influenced by the French philosophers Roland Barthes and Michael Foucault, their art confronted the image-saturated culture that surrounded them.
