Three screenings: Jim Goldberg’s Raised by Wolves

This unique screening, programmed to coincide with Smiler: Photographs of London by Mark Cawson in the ICA Fox Reading Room, juxtaposes the lives of those who chose to live on the streets of California and London at the same time. Although these chosen paths may have been very similar on either side of the Atlantic, the impetuses driving them were very different and the question is raised: can street photography be used as a barometer for social issues?

Jim Goldberg’s landmark Raised by Wolves, photographed between 1985-1995 on the streets of California, documents the lives of a twisted cast centred around veteran traveller, junkie and self-proclaimed rock star Tweeky Dave and recent runaway Echo. It is a timeless exploration into the existence of those who exist at the fringes – homeless youths, prostitutes and drug addicts.

Constructed and communicated through metanarratives within the book itself, the photographic series, the interviews with the kids of LA and remnants from the lives of Tweeky Dave and Echo—doctors reports, psychiatric tests and doodles—weave themselves seamlessly into one another. Goldberg the photographer and Jim the character both turn up repeatedly throughout. As a document, completely of its time, Raised by Wolves brings to light timeless concerns which manifested themselves throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s in the US. These are social struggles which seem to get left behind from mainstream social histories.

Since its publication, Raised by Wolves has evolved into a multimedia project which incorporates audio archives, home movies, video productions and reproductions of the original out of print book.

Programme

Introduction

• Raised by Wolves (7 mins)
• Echo’s Home Movies (10 mins)
• Dave and Echo at Carl’s Jr. (24 mins)

This event is organised by ICA Student Forum member Jack Smurthwaite.