Fond Kiki William's friend, W.S. Burroughs, Chris Wanklin at another table in T-shirt, Soco Chico Tanger Maroc circa mid-fifties, negative in my archives.
c. 1955, printed later
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 23.5 x 35.8 cm (9 1/4 x 14 1/8 in.) sheet: 31 x 42 cm (12 3/16 x 16 9/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gary S. Davis
Accession Number
2008.131.34
Art Historical Context
In the mid-1950s, poet Allen Ginsberg captured a slice of bohemian life in Tangier, Morocco at the bustling Socco Chico café. This gelatin silver print, titled *Fond Kiki William's friend,.S. Burroughs, Chrisanklin at another table in T-shirt, Soco Tanger Maroc circa midifties*, features Kiki—a friend of William S. Burroughs—the legendary Beat writer himself, and Chris Wanklin nearby. Shot around 1955 and printed later from Ginsberg's personal archives, it evokes the vibrant, expatriate scene of Tangier's International Zone, a haven for artists, writers, and outsiders until its dissolution in ...
About the Artist
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), born in Newark, New Jersey, emerged as a multifaceted figure in American culture, best known as a Beat Generation poet but also a prolific visual artist whose photographs, drawings, and prints captured the raw energy of his era. His early life offers little documentation on artistic training, though he attended Columbia University in the 1940s, where he formed connectio...