Randal Levenson started shooting fairgrounds in 1971 – travelling from Ottawa to Maine to visit a friend, he found he was there at the same time as the Fryeberg fair. He spent eight days photographing its agricultural and carnival exhibits and, intrigued, went on to the next fair, the last of the season, in Topsham, living in a tent in the woods opposite to be as near to the site as possible.
From there Levenson decided to shoot a book-long project on the so-called carnies, and worked on the project for the next ten years. He spent nearly all of 1974-78 on the road with various sideshows and carnivals, shooting from under a dark cloth on a large-format camera on a tripod. “I photographed freaks as normal people,” he told Vice back in 2014. “I found most to be fairly noble individuals.”
Count Nicholas’ Gorilla Show, Godding Amusements, Maumee, Ohio, 1974 © Randal Levenson
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1946, Levenson first got interested in photography while living in Alaska in the 1960s. He attended Brown University, and studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout North America, he has taught photography at the University of Ottawa, and he has lectured at Harvard and Brown University.
In Search of the Monkey Girl, and other work, is on show until 13 October at Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037. www.josephbellows.com
Morris, Hawksbury, Ontario, 1977 © Randal Levenson 
Stripper, Fargo, North Dakota, 1976 © Randal Levenson 
Inside the blow Nashville, Tennessee, 1981 © Randal Levenson 
Exhibt, Medical Freakout, c. 1970s © Randal Levenson 
Mark of the beast, c. 1970’s © Randal Levenson 
Richard Freeman, Alive, c. 1970s © Randal Levenson 
Suzy Drug Child, Ray Cammack’s Shows, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, 1975 © Randal Levenson 
Trabant, Flaxton, North Dakota, 1977 © Randal Levenson
From there Levenson decided to shoot a book-long project on the so-called carnies, and worked on the project for the next ten years. He spent nearly all of 1974-78 on the road with various sideshows and carnivals, shooting from under a dark cloth on a large-format camera on a tripod. “I photographed freaks as normal people,” he told Vice back in 2014. “I found most to be fairly noble individuals.”
Born in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1946, Levenson first got interested in photography while living in Alaska in the 1960s. He attended Brown University, and studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout North America, he has taught photography at the University of Ottawa, and he has lectured at Harvard and Brown University.
In Search of the Monkey Girl, and other work, is on show until 13 October at Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037. www.josephbellows.com
