Joe Maloney Asbury Park, New Jersey Palace Amusements. 1980. From the cover of “photograph” magazine. (PG) 2013.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net. 2013.
Photographs below courtesy of Rick Wester Fine Art, New York. Asbury and Jersey Shore photos by Joe Maloney, exhibited by Wester in 2013.
White shoes, Asbury Park. By Joe Maloney. 1979.
Joe Maloney was a pioneer in color photography when he took his 8×10 camera and documented life in Asbury Park and the Jersey Shore, c. 1979-80.
His work was nearly lost to history because his color prints suffered from a common problem back then—archival impermanence. But later his negatives were scanned and digitized, and his Asbury Park work has been receiving recognition.
We learned about his New York City exhibit (2013) when the magazine “photograph” ran an image of the Palace Amusements (1980) on the cover of their July/August, 2013 edition. Of course it caught my eye, and I contacted Mr. Wester who gave Blogfinger permission to show a few of the images.
Asbury Balloons. by Joe Maloney
Lyle Rexer, who reviewed the show for “photograph,” said that Maloney grew up in New Jersey in the 1970’s—a time when some photographers were “taking color to the street.” He referred to Asbury Park as “the working man’s ocean front paradise.”
Regarding Maloney’s images, Rexer says, “You can almost feel the summer heat and smell the zinc oxide.”**
According to Rick Wester, “Maloney documented his sense of a particular time—what the colors were like and how they interacted with the place and people to produce something indelible. I like to think of these as rock and roll pictures.” Maloney liked to photograph teenagers.
Asbury Rockers. by Joe Maloney
Joe Maloney. Seaside Heights, NJ. New Yorker
A New Yorker blogger, Hannah Choi (see link below,) related a quote by Joe Maloney regarding his photography efforts in Asbury Park, “It felt like you were inside a Bruce Springsteen song.”
The Asbury Pulp. (now defunct). has an excellent piece about Maloney dated June, 2013, including an interview with the artist.
Asbury miniature golf, 1979. By Joe Maloney.
The link below gives more information about Maloney’s work and show some great images as well. Rick Wester Fine Art at 526 West 26th Street, suite 417, in Chelsea, will be showing “Asbury Park and the Jersey Shore, c. 1979” until August 16. 2013.
*Re: Zinc oxide. By Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net: When I worked in a Catskill Mountain resort in the 1960’s I was outdoors all day on the athletic staff and needed UV sunglasses and protection for my nose. I used zinc oxide, which I don’t recall having a smell, but my nose was a bright white. The guests called me, “Chief White Nose.”
I loved my nickname because my Mom always said that we were descended from American Indians. Mom had a vivid imagination and she loved cowboy and Indian movies, rooting for the Indians.
RACHEL PLATTEN. “Lone Ranger.”