Where is Danny Lyon from? Where did he grow up? What time period did he live in?
Danny Lyon was born in America in March of 1942. He grew up in a time where he was present during almost all of the biggest civil rights movements in history. This didn't give him much to do besides express himself for who he was. This is how he got into photography. His mother and father raised him to be a high class philosopher. He studied philosophy at the university of Chicago and graduated in 1963. In this same year he posted his first while working for the student nonviolent coordination committee at his school. His pictures appeared in a documentary about the civil rights movements which led to his fame as a photographer.
What was significant or memorable in Danny Lyon's life?
Growing up during some of the biggest civil rights movements in history, he experienced a lot of heavy stuff. This lead his pictures to be very deep and meaningful. In the picture above your eyes are drawn straight to the boy in the middle of the photo. You notice how he is struggling against the man holding him, as well as the fact that the man holding him is white. This was to capture the main theme of the struggles that were happening during these times. The racial segregation between white people and people of color. If you look in the background you see many white faces that are watching this without any sense of irregularity in their face. There is clearly a lot of meaning and deep thinking put into this. This can give him an edge over other artists.
What is the overall meaning of Danny Lyon's work?
The overall meaning of Danny Lyon's work is to bring awareness to the terrible inequality during the civil rights movements. In the photo above you see black men standing in a line outside a private pool with white men standing inside keeping them out. This shows the segregation during these times where it was unthinkable to have black men and white men swim in the same pool. Lyon's work really captures the struggle for equality. It also dives straight into the heart of the problem, the sign says members only, so it doesn't seem like are discriminating against people of color. However, this is them covering up the reality that they believe they are better than anyone else, but they can't say this directly because they are scared they are gonna be judged. This shows that it isn't that people think they are better than other people, they think they are worse so they have to bring other people down to cope with it. This is why Danny Lyon's work is so meaningful.