The Children of Edgewood at drkrm
drkrm. gallery 2121 San Fernando Road • Suite 3
Los Angeles, CA 90065
323.223.6867 drkrmgallery@gmail.com
www.drkrm.com/edgewood.html
Photographs by Ryan Herz
March 8 –April 27, 2008
Opening Reception Saturday, March 8, 7-10 pm

All images Untitled, Edgewood Center, So. California 1976 20x24 silver gelatin prints
In late summer through early fall of 1976, Ryan Herz’s job was taking ID photos for the patients at the Edgewood Center, a Southern California facility for the developmental disabled. This gave him a unique opportunity to document a fragment of humanity the public at large rarely, if ever, sees. The resultant images are of patients who cover the landscape from mental retardation and severe autism to Down’s syndrome and brain damage. It is important to know that, even though some may look like adults, they are emotionally and developmentally children. These never-before-seen portraits were completed in three or four sessions. “I had just a few minutes with each person,” Herz explains. “This both forced me and freed me to be instinctual rather than manipulative.” That spontaneity coupled with the intense humanity and the unfiltered emotions of the subjects gives the photographs their power.
Viewing these beautiful and sometimes brutal black and white images, one almost feels the need to reach out to the children, not only to provide comfort but to let them know they are not forgotten or abandoned. One cannot help but see in their faces our own emotions. We look at them and wonder what they feel, what they dream of, what they aspire to. We become overwhelmed with sorrow, sympathy and an appreciation for the human spirit. Drkrm. gallery is proud to present the first public exhibition of this powerful and important body of work.
A portion of all sales will benefit The UCLA Foundation Medical Genetics Division Drkrm. gallery is an exhibition space
dedicated to fine art and documentary photography, cutting edge and alternative photographic processes and the display and survey of popular cultural images.
Regular gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm. Sunday
1-4pm.
PR CONTACT: Lee Joseph Publicity
p 818.848.2698 - f 818.848.2699
email: leejemail@gmail.com
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John Matkowsky
drkrm :: 2121 San Fernando Road
Suite 3 Los Angeles CA 90065
www.drkrm.com 323.223.6867
tues-sat 11-5 sun 1-4
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posted by Noé Montes @ 8:00 PM
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