Photo License
1978
Fred Lonidier American, born 1942
United States
Shaped by the countercultural protests of the 1960s and by Conceptual Art, Fred Lonidier is an activist-artist who utilizes photography to address practical goals—such as changes in the law—while working both within and beyond traditional art-world formats and venues. His work has been exhibited extensively in union halls and factory plants in addition to prominent museums and galleries. Playful and biting, Photo License “misuses” the vanity plate, which had just been introduced in California in the late 1970s, to reflect on the cultural and environmental implications of cars. Lonidier’s agenda is wittily communicated by the framing words Waste, Pollution, Danger, Fetish, Expense, Oligopoly—and the photographs and educational information provided in place of license plate numbers.
Personalized metal license plate frames with custom lettering, gelatin silver prints