The Teen Years at the Joseph Bellows Gallery

The Teen Years at the Joseph Bellows Gallery by Aline SmithsonJuly 21, 2016

Linda Brooks, David in his Room, vintage gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches

©Linda Brooks, David in his Room, Courtesy of the Joseph Bellows Gallery

For some reason, teenagers and summer seem to go together–maybe that combination is conjured up in the movies with a backdrop of sand and surf, or summer represents that expanse of time when behavior is a mix or boredom and braggadocio. This summer, the Joseph Bellows Gallery in San Diego has curated a terrific exhibition of puberty in it’s full glory, taking us on a trip through bell bottoms, hormones, and those long afternoons waiting for something to happen.

The Teen Years runs through August 26, 2016, and features a selection of both vintage and contemporary photographs that address the “physical, social, and emotional aspects of adolescence, and the formation of identity. The photographs included in the exhibition present a collective portrait of youth: its awkwardness, innocence, fury, elation, beauty, and trepidation.”

@Bill Yates, Sweetheart Roller Skating Rink, 1972-1973, Six Mile Creek, Hillsborough County (Tampa) FL, Courtesy of the Joseph Bellows Gallery

Photographs by Joseph Sterling, Edward Sturr, Enrico Natali, Elaine Mayes, Bevan Davies, Nacio Jan Brown, Melissa Shook, Harry Ibach, Duncan McCosker, Christine Osinski, Joan Albert, Sage Sohier, Mark Steinmetz, Andrea Modica, Bill Yates, John Myers and others will be included.