Transitions and Exits by Ari Marcopoulos


Transitions and Exits
Title : Transitions and Exits
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : -
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 176
Publication : First published October 31, 2000

Photographer Ari Marcopoulos has made a career of capturing life on the cultural edge. From his beginnings as an artist working for Andy Warhol, Marcopoulos has been drawn to those who work and live outside of their contemporary society. Some of his more famous subjects include William Burroughs, the Beastie Boys, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. In Transitions and Exits, Marcopoulos covers the life and times of the world's top young snowboarders with contemplative portraits, mountainous landscapes, and daredevil action shots. The faces of these athletes lie somewhere between wholesome and ragamuffin, and they deliver us into a fascinating world of modern Peter Pans, filled with video games, black eyes, cheap beer, and cigarettes. But beyond the mere stuff of adolescents lies boyishness with a cause. Marcopoulos "They are political in the way they shape their existence. Their lifestyle is financed by corporations and yet they live by their own rules outside of social norms.... In snowboarding there is nothing better than breaking the rules." The photographs illustrate a commitment to natural beauty, adventure, and athletic perfection, as well as capturing the family-like clan that develops in the many off-hours. Included is an enlightening interview between the photographer and curator-writer Louise Neri. --J.P. Cohen

Transitions and Exits Reviews

  • jacob bates

    Really cool photo book. Great quality in the prints. Interesting portraits of snowboarders in their late teens & early 20s engaged in various nefarious activities. I got into Ari’s work mainly from his zines and his portraiture, he has a greater ability to capture things genuinely than counterparts in the New York photo scene such as Larry Clark; his work seems much less manipulative and contrived than Clark’s. Insightful interview at the end of the book as well, he talks about being an assistant to Warhol in the 70s & 80s which I thought was a cool connection.

  • Mike

    I'm probably slightly biased here because I'm in the book (albeit in the background in a photo) and I've met Ari on several instances. That said, Ari is an amazing photographer and when he produced this book in 2000, no one else was photographing snowboarding in this manner. His approach—both in technical terms and also in his effort to dive into the daily lives of pro snowboarders—has allowed a fully different gaze into the sport. Instead of just the glossy action shots you'd expect, you also get an incredible view into what it's like to travel as a pro and live out of the proverbial suitcase. You also will see on these pages the forerunner of the same aesthetic approach we now see in so much snow/surf/skateboarding photography and ads today. Yet in the year 2000, it was a novel approach fueled by both the growth and energy of snowboarding as a sport and by pioneering graphic designers of the 1990s like David Carson. A decade later, it's certainly possible to tell this book stems from the early 2000s but at the same time it's remained 100% fresh. I highly recommend it to anyone into snowboarding or photography.

  • Kevin

    wildly formal in what appears to be boy chaos, the conversion of the mountain into an unconscious form/sculpture.

  • Chris Schneider

    I am trying to understand the appeal of Marcopulos. I am trying, but I still do not see it. Some artists totally elude me as to why they are so loved.