Danny Lyon
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Route 12, Wisconsin, 1963; printed 2014 -
Crossing the Ohio, 1966; printed 2014
Danny Lyon considers himself a photojournalist, and his work, a brand of advocacy journalism; Lyon devotes his career to documenting the demonstrations of social activism in which he has immersed himself.
A self-taught photographer, Lyon was first introduced to the medium as a staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, photographing civil rights demonstrations against segregation in the American South. His other subjects have included the Chicago Outlaw Motorcycle Club (of which he was part for two years), the Texas prison system, the Occupy movement, and the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan. His work was perhaps most strongly influenced by the 1941 publication Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, featuring text by James Agee and photographs by Walker Evans (via Artsy).