David Lawrence Levinthal (born March 8, 1949) is an American photographer who lives and works in New York City. He uses small toys and props with lighting to construct miniature environments for subject matters varying from war scenes, to voyeurism, to racial and political references, to American pop culture.[1]
Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), History (2010–2018), and Vietnam (2018-2022).
Levinthal utilizes primarily large-format Polaroid photography.[7] His works touch upon aspects of American culture, from Barbie to baseball to X-rated dolls. Levinthal's major series include Hitler Moves East (1972–1975), Modern Romance (1983–1985), Wild West (1986–1989), Desire (1991–1992), Blackface (1995–1998), Barbie (1997–1998), Baseball (1998–2004), History (2010–2018), and Vietnam (2018-2022).[8]
His series, Blackface, consists of close-ups of black memorabilia, household objects infused with African-American stereotypes, causing controversy that forced the Institute of Contemporary Art of Philadelphia to cancel the exhibition while still in its early planning stages.[4]
Toys are intriguing, and I want to see what I can do with them. On a deeper level, they represent one way that society socializes its young.
Ever since I began working with toys, I have been intrigued with the idea that these seemingly benign objects could take on such incredible power and personality simply by the way they were photographed. I began to realize that by carefully selecting the depth of field and making it narrow, I could create a sense of movement and reality that was in fact not there.
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