Levinson, Joel D.

For his California Flea Market series, Joel Levinson photographed flea markets and swap meets throughout the state in the mid-seventies. Observing relationships between vendors, their eclectic range of wares, and the buyers that frequent these events, Levinson’s photographs offer insight into the ethnically diverse yet communal culture of flea markets from the era.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Joel Levinson completed a BA in Communications in 1975 and a Masters in Visual Arts in 1978 from the University of California, Berkeley. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Baltimore Art Museum; Bibliotheque National, Paris; Boston Museum of Art; Denver Art Museum; the Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; and the Minneapolis Institute for the Arts, among others. He has worked commercially creating movie posters for companies including Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia Pictures, Pacific Western, TriStar Pictures, and Miramax. He has published two monographs of his work, Joel D. Levinson, Photographs (1984) and Fleamarkets (1986).