Bikers: Photographs by Ann Simmons-Myers
Twenty five years ago, Tucson photographer Ann Simmons-Myers began a documentary portraiture project capturing the subculture of Harley Davidson motorcycle riders in the area using black and white film. Simmons-Myers immersed herself in the several-year project by researching motorcycles, riding with a biker friend to blend in with her subjects, and spending time with bikers and their families to understand their lives and the passion that defines them.
Having gained the acceptance of the bikers, the young photographer was soon attending biker weddings and visiting the homes of bikers to portray the personal side of the otherwise intimidating stereotype of a biker. What Simmons-Myers exposes in her impressive body of fifty photographs is a range of personalities and lifestyles from middle-class educated professionals to topless dancers, intimate affection to displays of violence, and patriotism to determined defiance of the status quo. Revealing that these bikers are all individuals like the rest of society, the artist documented their common reverence for Harleys in their everyday lives.
