Neal Slavin: When Two or More Are Gathered Together

'Neal Slavin's images of people grouped together - from fencers to Star Trek fans, models to Bible collectors - have been entrancing viewers for half a century' - The Guardian 'Slavin's celebration of togetherness in an increasingly individualistic digital age feels especially relevant.' - BBC Culture This expanded fifty-year anniversary edition of When Two or More Are Gathered Together revisits the question of social unity in the United States and includes new subjects-dogs, fencers and chambermaids-some photographed as recently as 2023. Neal Slavin began taking group portraits in the early 1970s, intrigued by the social dynamics of groups and the motivations behind their formation. While the pictures themselves were most often posed, Slavin instructed his subjects to arrange themselves, allowing natural hierarchies and indications of status to emerge. When the series was first published in 1974, it was recognized as an instant landmark in the emerging field of color photography, a field that included photographers such as Stephen Shore and William Eggleston. Regarded as something of a deadpan stunt, yet framed as a serious social experiment, When Two or More Are Gathered Together was appreciated for its surprising insights into American social life. Fifty years later, on the eve of a presidential election, the United States grapples with profound social division and political unrest. This expanded fifty-year anniversary edition of When Two or More Are Gathered Together revisits the question of social unity in the United States and includes new subjects-dogs, fencers and chambermaids-some photographed as recently as 2023. An essay by art historian Kevin Moore offers historical context for this timely and relevant body of early color photography.

About the Author :
Neal Slavin (born 1941) graduated from the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture. He has published three photobooks: Portugal (1971), When Two or More Are Gathered Together (1976) and Britons (1986). He directed and produced the 2001 film Focus, based off of Arthur Miller's novel of the same name.

Review :
In an era fraught with social, political, and digital unrest, Neal Slavin achieved what we fail to see even today: our strength and harmony in unity. By depicting the ever-evolving social life of America, Slavin highlights the significance of connection, which sometimes divides and other times binds us together.--Nilofer Khan "The Phoblographer" Reissue by Damiani of a legendary book published 50 years ago.-- "The Eye of Photography" Slavin's celebration of togetherness in an increasingly individualistic digital age feels especially relevant.--Deborah Nicholls-Lee "BBC" The last gasp of mutual belonging in this country might have been immortalized in the photographer Neal Slavin's 1976 book 'When Two or More Are Gathered Together, ' now reissued with later images.--Walker Mimms "The New York Times Book Review" The resulting photographs possess rare animation and humor, the subjects' self-arrangement adding an extra layer of revelation.--Cullen Murphy "The Atlantic"