Ryan McGinley's First Shots

Youth, by definition, is ephemeral. A passing phase. A moment of innocence, or freedom, or invincibility that at some point we grow out of. Few artists have captured that period of life so well as Ryan McGinley. His early photographs of his life, his friends and the Lower East Side helped to define New York City at the turn of the century.

From these early images of beautiful young things kissing, fucking, tagging, cli...