'Suburbia' is a slice of '70s-era Americana

PROVO — Little Richie straddles his vintage Big Wheel, toy rifle in hand, eyes pinched into slits under a puckered brow, as if to say, "You lookin' at me?"

That's exactly what we're doing, only through the eyes of photographer Bill Owens, who captured the youngster on film in 1972, on the empty street of a suburb in Livermore, Calif.

The image of Ritchie is one of 65 black-and-white photographs in "Bill Owens: Suburbia," an exhibit in the downstairs Jones & Boshard Gallery of the Brigham Young University Museum of Art through Dec. 4.

At first glance, "Suburbia" looks like "artsy" snapshots of family get-togethers, neighborhood parties, kids playing in the back yard and Sunday barbecues; the bits and pieces of life you find hidden away in dusty family photo albums where green shag carpet reigned supreme, toreadors were painted on black velvet and macramé pot holders were the décor au courante.

The temptation to view the exhibit as a '70s flashback is strong, but it could just as easily be viewed as an indictment of the cultural vacuum of suburban sprawl.

However, Owens' specific intent in creating "Suburbia" was to show how his neighbors were enjoying the pursuit of the American dream.

"Most of the people Owens photographed were young, confident and enjoying a quality of life unattained by previous generations," said Diana Turnbow, BYU Museum of art photography curator. "The images in this exhibition illustrate that suburbia's paradox — aspiring to the good life, while remaining conscious of its limitations — has become a defining element of the American experience."

In her essay for the California Museum of Photography, author Cynthia Morrill said, "Owens built his work around the intersection of a neutral journalistic stance and the dry, terse, deadpan commentary of the residents themselves."

Such is the case with Richie's photograph, as well as others: a woman surrounded by kitchen clutter and open cupboards while paying bills; a woman watering flowers in a toilet bowl situated in the middle of her back yard lawn; a family resting in lounge chairs in front of their open, junk-filled garage; and bored women in miniskirts at a Tupperware party.

" 'Bill Owens: Suburbia' offers viewers a captivating slice of Americana, with just the right blend of realism, comedy, idealism and irony," said Lynda Palma, BYU Museum of Art educator.

"Owens' photographs authentically convey details of the past that are surprisingly poignant and relevant in the 21st century."