M+B 612 NORTH ALMONT DRIVE LOS ANGELES 90069 California États-Unis
M+B is pleased to announce the first exhibition of never-before-seen photographs of President Barack Obama from his first year at Occidental College in Los Angeles by Lisa Jack. Jack, then a student of photography at "Oxy," sought a striking subject for a portrait project and was tipped off about a charismatic freshman named “Barry” Obama who would make an ideal subject. After the shoot, the negatives would remain locked away for the next 28 years. These photographs from 1980 offer a rare window back in time before the posters and before the campaign, when a 20-year-old young man was grappling with issues of self and purpose that would shape him to become the 44th President of the United States.
At first worried these images could be used against President Obama, Jack realized they were incriminating of nothing other than being young and self-conscious, and that they offered a unique glimpse into how the man who made history went from being “Barry” to Barack. After having her one roll of film from that day sit forgotten for almost thirty years, Jack now offers up these images “so that others may see a side to him [she has] yet to observe captured in the maelstrom of contemporary media”.
A selection of these photographs was first featured in Time Magazine’s 2008 “Person of the Year” Issue, which chose then President-elect Barack Obama as its honoree. This exhibition marks the first time these rare photographs have ever been printed and on display.