Inspired by neo-noir crime films and the spasmodic dance moves of New York’s punk rockers, Robert Longo’s iconic Men in the Cities series captures the wanton American capitalism that had reached a pinnacle during the 1980s. After a viewing of The American Soldier (1970), Longo sought to recreate the film’s final scene in which two gangsters are gunned down, their bodies falling with heightened theatricality. Enlisting friends such as Cindy Sherman and Larry Gagosian, Longo photographed his subjects dodging tennis balls, being pulled by ropes or surprised by loud noises on the roof of his studio. The images captured his subjects twisting, jumping and convulsing, wrenching and contorting their bodies in ways which, devoid of context, take on an intensity that still resonates with viewers today. Working from these photographs, Longo created 60 hyper-realistic charcoal drawings and later, collaborated with Edition Schellmann to produce a large-scale and technically challenging edition of lithographs. Today, Men in the Cities continues to occupy a place in our popular culture, reminiscent of the zeitgeist of New York in the 80s. Examples from the series can be found in institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
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Robert Longo
Robert Longo b. 1953
American artist, filmmaker, photographer, and musician Robert Longo was born in 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Long Island, he developed a fascination with mass media as a child, becoming drawn to movies, television, and comic books. Longo took classes at the University of North Texas, although he left before completing the curriculum. He later studied sculpture under Leonda Finke, who encouraged him to pursue the visual arts. In 1972, Longo received a grant to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy. Upon returning to the United States, he enrolled at Buffalo State College, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1975. While in Buffalo, he co-founded Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, an avant-garde exhibition space that connected him with influential artists and critics.
While Longo trained as a sculptor, he is best known for his large-scale, hyper-realistic charcoal drawings. His Men in the Cities series, produced between 1979 and 1982, showcases his sculptural approach to drawing, where his precise use of graphite and charcoal gives the images a striking three-dimensional quality. These works, based on photographs of his friends in dramatic, choreographed poses, became some of the most recognizable artworks of the 1980s. Longo's ability to capture tension and movement in static images solidified his place among the leading artists of the Pictures Generation, a group that included Cindy Sherman, Richard Prince, and David Salle.
Beyond visual art, Longo has worked extensively in other media. In the 1980s, he directed music videos for bands like New Order ("Bizarre Love Triangle") and R.E.M. ("The One I Love"), as well as designing album covers for Glenn Branca and The Replacements. In 1995, Longo directed the cyberpunk film, Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves. His ventures into music included leading the no-wave band Menthol Wars in New York's underground music scene during the late 1970s.
Throughout his career, Longo has addressed themes of power, violence, and authority in his art. His Black Flags series (1989–91) featured blackened American flags, while the Bodyhammers series (1993–95) presented oversized handguns, reflecting the artist's critique of American militarism and violence. He has continued to explore politically charged subjects in works such as The Freud Drawings (2002), Monsters (2004), which depicted massive, breaking waves, and The Destroyer Cycle (2014–present), which reflects on global crises, including protest movements and environmental destruction.
During the past fifty years, Longo's works have been exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Menil Collection in Houston, and at the Whitney Biennial in New York City. He is represented by Pace Gallery and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac. In 2023, his Engines of State series was given to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Auction Results Robert Longo
