Union Square’s Coolest New Photography Exhibition: The Wild Ones By Christina McNeill
“The only people for me are the mad ones. The ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
Stumbling into this closing reception was like walking into a surprise engagement. I was greeted by the artist Christina McNeill and one of the show’s curators and quickly welcomed with choices of red or white wine. Weddings are something I absolutely adore, I truly love everything love. Just last week I sat with two girlfriends both recently engaged talk at length about their engagement, ring design process, and plans for their ceremony and honeymoons, respectively. I really could talk about this stuff all day. Wedding photography though, is such unexpected genre to be seen and enjoyed on gallery walls. I was blown away by the immediate sense of a high fashion editorial in this show. All of Christina’s brides have an untouchable factor. Her brides are all impossibly chic without the pretense, effervescent, and ethereal. If the photos themselves weren’t already cool enough, the gallery that housed the exhibition was once Dorothea Lange’s studio.
After walking through the gallery space, I had the opportunity to sit down with the artist and ask her more about the inspiration for the show. I had the pleasure of learning more about her favorite cameras, the full circle journey from art school to a gallery opening after a long career just blocks away from her classrooms. The technical components of photography is something I haven’t explored past processing a few rolls of black and white film in a dark room, and have never been deeply involved in any post-production for film projects I’ve been involved in. Listening to Christina talk about her foundational teachings in Art School and during that time learning the finicky process of choosing which films to use to compliment skin tone- my perspective has shifted to realize that photography really at it’s core is a painting. A no brainer, lost on me all these years. This rings true especially as many of her portraitures shine so brightly. As seen her in piece Americana City Hall, Napa, California, 2013 it’s almost as if Christina breathed new life into Norman Rockwell’s Marriage License, 1955.
Christina McNeill’s photos are not static, they’re in motion, and alive. Flipping through prints that didn’t make the curation’s cut, I couldn’t help but imagine a family member many generations from now being sucked into glamour of the 2020’s. This reception was such an intimate experience, and I’m glad I came in from the rain, and was able to experience it. But like any great party, and a couple of glasses of wine later, I was sad to leave.
Marriage License, 1955, Norman Rockwell
Americana City Hall, 2013, Christina McNeill
The Wild Ones
"I love street photography and vintage Dior and punk rock glitz and glamour. I love the grain of black and white film and the nostalgia of color snapshots. I love spontaneity and surprising in-between moments and imperfection. I love love love movement. And I fucking hated wedding photography. Cliche, predictable, boring pictures that nobody cares about except maybe your mom. Definitely not art.
But at some point, I realized I could bring all the things I loved to weddings. I could show up with my documentary eye and arsenal of analog film cameras, and take the pictures that I would want to have. I could create wedding photos with substance: emotional, immersive, authentic, and totally unxpected.
And I fell in love with weddings. The energy in amplified: humor and chaos and beauty and all of the family dynamics and history. I get to build relationships that let me uncover a real story, to connect with clients in a deep and meaningful way, to notice those magical moments that seem like they only happen in movies. And each wedding is kind of an adventure- new and different from any other.
My career has been about challenging the status quo of wedding photography, and that’s what this show is designed to do. To pull wedding photos out of the family album and onto gallery walls. The theme may be weddings, but the intention is to create satisfying art that resonates, whether you know the subjects or not.
The Wild Ones is my answer to the question of whether wedding photography can really be fine art, and my answer is a resounding and rebellious YES. Who are the wild ones? They’re who I’m drawn to. People who are passionate and creative and vibrant. Unapologetically themselves. And they are me.”
-Christina McNeill
Absolutely blown away that this entire wall was comprised of photos taken on a Holga.
A couple of favorite photographs from the show:
Like A 90’s Supermodel
Los Angeles, California
2023
Hair Toss At The Bowery
New York, New York
2022
The Loeffler Randall Natalia’s are THE cool girl wedding accessory, and was not surprised to see them have their own moment in the gallery.
Before exploring the gallery space Christina told me to make sure to stop into the bathroom as there was a surprise waiting:
Christina’s Solo Exhibition Ran November 17th-22nd @ 540 Sutter Street, San Francisco & was Co-curated by Caroline Lavayen, Alia Wilson, and Nina Cornelison.
You can see more photos from the exhibition here.