glen E. friedman's
idealist propaganda

Biography

Glen E. Friedman, (Born 1962) considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, became well known for working with such rebellious artists as Fugazi, Black Flag, Ice-T, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Misfits, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C, KRS-1, and Public Enemy, as well as old school skateboarders like: Tony Alva, Jay Adams, Alan "Ollie" Gelfand, Duane Peters, and Stacy Peralta, among others. Many of his photographs are recognized as the subjects' definitive portraits. His graphic documents of the movement in culture reveal the science of defiance upon which all are based. Friedman's photos reflect the spirit of progression and angst that defined an era. Not only was he in the right places at an extraordinary number of appropriate times, Friedman has helped define the moment and movements he was caught up in. His process was much more incendiary than it was documentary. According to Henry Rollins "The bottom line is that he was there at the beginning of so much cool stuff in so many different areas it's not funny."

Glen E. Friedman's captivating images demonstrate his remarkable eye for raw reality, talent and aesthetic beauty. He is, without doubt, one of this generation's most discerning and important photographers, Friedman has documented like no one else.

After being born in North Carolina while his father was serving a short stint in the Army at Fort Bragg, a year later the family were able to return to northern New Jersey, where Glen spent a large part of his childhood off and on. He attended the public schools in Englewood, NJ through 2nd grade. When his parents divorced his mother took him and his younger brother to live in California. At this point in time he would spend the school year in Los Angeles and then visit his father in the New York City / New Jersey area during vacations, until the situation was reversed for his last two years of High School.

Glen was never a great student, always got by, and was one of those kids who the teachers said "If he'd only apply himself a bit more he'd be an "A" student". Well, In school that never happened. Even from a young age he always seemed to have his own agenda. A bit of an introvert and sensitive, but also very loud and opinionated when he got around his shyness. As a nine year old he held a very aggressive anti-Vietnam war stance, and at ten proudly supported George McGovern for president on his clothing. He always stood up for the rights of his friends, particularly those more shy then himself, from an early age he could not stand to see others taken advantage of in any way.

When his mother re-married and they moved to the affluent area, of Brentwood in West Los Angeles, Glen would eventually start hanging out with older kids, after school and on the weekends, outside of his own "nice" neighborhood where he was bored and frustrated, by the spoiled brats and elitist attitudes of the 'blue bloods'.

Friedman's childhood was largely spent hanging out and skating in the legendary West L.A. schoolyards of the area affectionately known as "DogTown." His friends were beginning to be featured in magazines as top skateboarders, but Friedman felt the images failed to capture the true essence of what he was witnessing on a daily basis. Though still in junior high school, he thought he could do better.

In the spring of '75 he took a photography class with his "Pocket Instamatic" and refused to use a more professional 35mm camera, not only because he did not own one, but also because he would be afraid to break it or loose it, and of course with the "Pocket Instamatic" he could still hang out and skate without much concern. He started snapping pictures of his friends and even submitted them to skateboard manufacturers hoping they would use them in advertisements in the magazine, at the time he thought there was no way he could go directly to the editorial staff at "SkateBoarder" magazine. Forgetting for the most part about his class assignments, he learned all about cameras and the basics of good photography, but continued shooting the subjects only he wanted to, hence he got a "D" in "Photography 1".

In the fall of 1976, Friedman discovered an empty swimming pool, and corralled a few friends (the infamous Jay Adams among them) into riding it so he could take pictures with a borrowed 35mm camera. He showed the results to a freelance SkateBoarder writer (C.R. Stecyk III) he met at the local schoolyard, who put the eighth-grader in touch with the editor. SkateBoarder published the first photos Glen ever submitted, one as a full-page subscription ad, (just months after he got that "D"). He soon after became the magazines youngest staff member. This is when he began to learn about the business of photography and publishing, soaking it all in, learning the 'hard way' for years to come. The magazine was having an effect on youth culture worldwide and in turn he became a bit of a underground-cult figure for being one of the main contributors of the hardcore action, not to mention his age.

Several years later Friedman began to shoot photos at the Punk shows he was attending. It was inspiring to him to be so close to the bands and their intense energy. Glen was passionately loyal to his subjects, and relentlessly devoted to winning them exposure in order to expose others to the ideals of these artists. At first in the skate magazines, and later in fan'zines and music magazines. Proto-punks such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and others received some of their first national and international media documentation through Friedman's work. The political views and progressive perspectives of the hard-core punk bands educated Friedman. He attempted to gain them exposure in major news and music publications as well, to no avail at the time.

It was the DIY (do it yourself) work ethic, he picked up from hanging out with Black Flag, that got Friedman, in 1982, to self publish his "photo-zine" MY RULES. It sold 10,000 copies and was the largest selling 'zine of the era.

In 1983 Friedman produced Suicidal Tendencies first album. He became their manager and of course handled all of their photography, promotion and marketing. By 1984 he helped to direct and edit their first video, for the song he produced "Institutionalized", and relentlessly promoted that until it got them on MTV, the first hardcore punk band ever to be in "rotation" on the channel. Soon thereafter conflicts between Glen and the band arose and he quit, saying he "would never try and do all of that, ever again." That album he produced became the biggest selling hardcore punk album of the decade.

Friedman began thinking of new outlets for his enthusiasm and work. Later in 1984 he met up with old friends the Beastie Boys on their first trip to Los Angeles, now as a rap group instead of a punk band. On this trip he created some of the most memorable Beastie Boys photos ever. He was then introduced to Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, they loved his work, attitude, understanding and interest of the culture of Hip-Hop.

All the while, Glen did attended college in California from 1981-1986, and went to several schools, ending up at UCLA. He enrolled in all of the required courses and then "took every "1" class that was offered to be well rounded", and to try and figure out where this education would lead him. He admits to learning some great things during this time, particularly in his final major of philosophy, but eventually he became disillusioned with the educational "system", and after five+ years he dropped out.

By 1985, Friedman was photographing all the Def Jam artists, and relocated back to New York in 1987. His early documentation of Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Ice-T, L.L. Cool J and the Beasties brought Hip-Hop to a wider audience, thanks in part to the connections he had made in the music business with the punk bands. His work achieved fame as record covers for many of the decades finest in Hip-Hop and Punk. Many of his photographs are recognized as the subjects' definitive portraits.

In 1986 Glen began reading flyers and various pamphlets, given to him from punk friends, educating him to the environmental and health concerns associated with a typical American diet. Glen had grown up eating meat and the normal junk food fare of his age group, in fact he at one time loved eating at the fast food chains, and was happy to eat a "bloody steak" on occasion. By 1987 he began to read the book Diet For A New America, before he was finished, he had completed making the transition to a VEGAN diet and lifestyle, which he still practices (and promotes) to this day.

Throughout the rest of the 80's and early 90's Friedman was making a living shooting musicians and solidifying his reputation as one of the greats of his generation. With this notoriety he became even more outspoken with his own political views than ever before, and began influencing many of those subjects and others that were around him or seeing his work. People began to notice that all of these cultures Glen was involved in promoting were having a large influence on the culture as a whole. The work he set out to do with all of these individuals was inspiring legions.

By 1994, Friedman had published FUCK YOU HEROES on his Burning Flags Press imprint. A collection of his work spanning 1976 to 1991, "Heroes" looked at the pioneering leaders of the Skateboarding, Punk and Hip-Hop subcultures that he was so much a part of. Its title, though offensive to some, signifies his subjects' bold, forthright, heroic rejection of reactionary social standards. His second book, FUCK YOU TOO: The Extras & More Scrap Book, was published in 1996 (and has been subsequently updated in 2004).

The FUCK YOU ALL exhibition, combining photos from both of those first two books, brought Friedman's work to major cities around the world. Starting in 1997 at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, then on to Sydney, Tokyo, Florence, Rome, Milan, Sicily, Berlin, Stockholm, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.

In 1998, Glen followed up with the publication of The Idealist: In My Eyes - Twenty Years, which he considers the artistic summation of his photography, a perspective on his own artistic aesthetic. Diverging greatly from his other known work. This book was revised in 2003 to include an additional five years of photography, and comments from a few more subjects who had also inspired him, including Ralph Nader and Professor Cornel West, written specifically for this book.

In 2000, The book, DogTown - The Legend Of The Z-Boys, was co-authored with C.R. Stecyk III, and edited and designed by Friedman. Glen's film credit, co-producer and creative consultant, barely touch on the major influence he had on the 2002 feature-length documentary DogTown and Z-Boys, which won audience choice award for Best Documentary at Sundance and additional awards at several other festivals. He also appears as one of the main commentators in the film itself.

In 2004 Friedman created the "Liberty Street Protest" for millions who visit the former World Trade Center site, from around the world, to see at Ground Zero in New York City. It's provocative anti-war sentiment, made up of 27 huge window banners in an 11 story building, was displayed through the republikkkan convention of that year, and received attention worldwide.

In 2005 his new book RECOGNIZE is released. An artistic statement that will shock and surprise many.

2006, Friedman collaborated with old DogTown friend Jay Adams to edit and design the book JAY BOY made entirely of early photographs taken by Jay's stepfather and Z-Flex founder Kent Sherwood.

In 2007 Glen got married and also had his first child, a son. He also released Keep Your Eyes Open - The Fugazi photographs of Glen E. Friedman, and the FUCK YOU ALL exhibition was shown in Antwerp, Belgium.

- pieced together by Craig Marshall, Consafos Press, 2005 - 2007