The triumphs and tragedies of the 1960s provided photographer Bob Gomel extraordinary opportunities to help advance American photojournalism. As the images in Eyewitness demonstrated, when history was made, Gomel often was there, making iconic and innovative images of world leaders and events, athletes and entertainers, and great moments in contemporary history — including President John F. Kennedy, the Beatles, Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X, and Marilyn Monroe.
This exhibition, presented by Alta Arts and sponsored by the Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin (www.briscoecenter.org), and in conjunction with the 2024 Fotofest Biennial, served as a retrospective of Gomel’s work and includes photographs from his personal collection that were featured for the first time in a public showing.
Born in New York in 1933, Gomel earned a journalism degree from New York University in 1955 and then served as a U.S. Navy aviator. Gomel joined LIFE in 1959 and shot for the immensely popular magazine for a decade. He later freelanced for Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, Fortune and Forbes magazines, and shot national advertising campaigns for Audi, Bulova, GTE, Merrill Lynch, and Shell Oil, among others.
Eyewitness also features selections from the Bob Gomel Photographic Archive, part of the extensive photographic holdings of the Briscoe Center. The center’s photojournalism archives have flourished over the past two decades into a renowned collection of national-level importance. Gomel’s archive at the Briscoe Center ranges from 1959 to 2014 and includes film negatives, contact sheets, and exhibit prints.
Curated by Bob Gomel and J.P. Zenturo Perez
Installation team: J.P. Zenturo Perez and Alexander Uribe of Alta Arts.
