A landmark exhibition in Madrid explores Joel Meyerowitz’s formative journey across Europe, centred on the months he spent living and working in Málaga
“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-by. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” – Jack Kerouac, On The Road, (London: Penguin Classics, 2000), p. 141.
With fading light on the horizon, and the tranquil waters of a ship’s wake flowing gloomily under an overcast sky, ‘Europa 1966-1967’ begins with the first photographs from Joel Meyerowitz’s epic journey of self-discovery, as he sails across the Atlantic headed for England’s south coast. Taking centre stage at PHotoESPAÑA, the annual festival of photography held in Madrid, ‘Europa 1966-1967’ draws from the thousands of photographs Meyerowitz made during his time away from the United States and traces the arc of a year-long journey that would shape the trajectory of one of the 20th Century’s most distinguished street photographers. As a testament to the enduring significance of his photographic legacy, Meyerowitz was recently awarded the PHE Prize, the festival’s highest honour.
My entry point for the exhibition is one of the earlier photographs Meyerowitz made during his road trip along the western seaboard of Britain. A giant green and red car-sized lump, with a door on the side of it, sits by the roadside opposite an exposed cliff face. Looking like the discarded prop from a production of James and the Giant Peach, this bizarre concrete ball is in fact a small kiosk selling ice creams and beach toys. I know this because I often drive along this same stretch of road to go surfing at Langland Bay, and I can confirm that it is still there to this day. In Meyerowitz’s photograph a sage green Ford Zodiac and a suited man give both a sense of scale and period to this otherwise confusing scene. It is in these uncanny moments that Meyerowitz is able to find, that I think attest to the best of his work.
There is both wit and mystery found within his most captivating imagery, such as in a photograph from Turkey, where a headless and armless man walks along the road, reminiscent of a scene from the film adaptation of H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. As well as his more humorous takes, there are also moments of quiet beauty. In one particular photograph the fading sunlight, in a great rectangular gleam, falls against the gathering shade on a wall. On the left-hand side of the image a man’s silhouette is partially lit up by the sun catching the heel of his raised shoe. Something about the scale of the scene is seemingly off, it appears almost like a doll’s house with immoveable plastic plant pots and a stone basin, which looks not unlike an enormous soap dish.
Meyerowitz’s Málaga images form the backbone of the exhibition and are an obvious focus, given its setting in Madrid. One aspect that looms large over the work is the Franco dictatorship Spain was under at the time. Armed police, or “Grises” (Spanish for “gray ones”) as they were known, with their tricorne hats and tight buttoned blazers, pepper Meyerowitz’s street photographs from Málaga. In one image, “FRANCO – 98.95% – SI” lights up the entire façade of a building in ghostly neon letters. The political undertones to Meyerowitz’s work are an interesting footnote, in an otherwise entirely buoyant and life-affirming set of photographs. His focus quickly shifts to a family of gypsy flamenco performers, whom he set about making both a visual and acoustic recording of. What seems like an unending party of singing, drinking and dancing bursts out through the exhibition’s central section.
After six months in Andalusia, Meyerowitz and his wife decided it was time to push on and see more of the continent. Arriving in Paris with a newfound confidence in his photography, Meyerowitz’s roving street scenes are a carnival of chaos and colour. Seemingly on every corner Meyerowitz finds captivating scenes packed with action, from straw hats flying off in the wind, to fire-breathing street performers or, as in one of his most iconic scenes, a man collapses in the street and passersby either gawp or skirt around him. These spontaneous photographs are the mimetic language of experience, Meyerowitz seems to have found a stylistic approach in part inspired by the tangled, overlapping dramatism he discovered in the flamenco performances he was recording in Málaga.
The exhibition closes with a video interview of Meyerowitz recalling anecdotes from his time spent in Europe and the impact it had on him both spiritually and artistically. Describing the trip as his coming-of-age – “It was the journey of my life, it was a dream” – Meyerowitz’s bold gamble proved a palpable success. In extricating himself from the influences of other New York street photographers at the time (such as his friends Garry Winogrand, Tony Ray-Jones and Tod Papageorge), the journey of self-discovery Meyerowitz undertook seems to have been a catalyst for refining his approach to photography. This exhibition and the accompanying catalogue offer a fascinating insight into how Joel Meyerowitz’s year of travelling Europe helped to shape his visual style.
Europa 1966-1967 is on view at PHotoESPAÑA until 13 July 2025.
