Recently, Wittliff intern, Deandra Lee, curated Souls of Prom, a photo installation featuring photographs by Will van Overbeek. This new exhibition at The Wittliff’s Treasures gallery showcases six images from his 2005 Prom series. Lee’s enthusiasm comes through in her introductory curatorial statement, “I was excited to learn about a photographer who has been photographing for many years. His photographs represent the forethought of how one can visualize an image. Will van Overbeek is an remarkable artist who crafts his own intuition with looking into the essence of people.” Lee is planning to graduate in December 2024 with a BFA in Photography.
In his series Prom (2005), van Overbeek, an Austin based documentary photographer, went back to high school. While on a business trip to Florida, van Overbeek saw students wearing Zoot suits for their prom. What caught his eye was a fun opportunity, and he suggested it as a cover story for the Austin Chronicle. Louis Black, editor, agreed and tasked van Overbeek with photographing a diverse collection of proms, including students from a suburban school, a private school, a Hispanic majority school, and a Black majority school.
Documenting the youthful, fun-filled nights of students as they dance and pose for the camera, he captures the fashion of the early 2000’s and the ways in which time is nonexistent and how the moment of living is now. With this body of work, van Overbeek delightfully presents happy accidents and the beauty in people by highlighting cultural identity and revealing souls and connections within each image.
As a student at the University of Texas, Van Overbeek (born 1955), was taught by Garry
Will van Overbeek
Winogrand and mentored by Russell Lee. His first major project was a photo documentary
book Aggies: Life in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M (Texas Monthly Press, 1982). His
photographs have been published in numerous magazines, including Texas Monthly, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, and American Way. In 2007, his photographs of Barton Springs, taken over a 24 year period, were featured at the Austin Museum of Art. van Overbeek recently retired as a long-time contributing photographer for Texas Highways Magazine. The Wittliff Collections house over 180 photographs by him.
Q&A
How long have you been photographing?
I have been a full time photographer since 1979, 45 years.
What is one thing you learned as an artist in that time?
Two things: finding joy in the absurdity of the world and seeing with my eyes as the camera sees.
What is art to you?
An attempt to connect soul to soul. A camera can only photograph the superficial yet a great picture can capture a soul.
Has photography changed you as a person to learn about different forms of perspective when communicating with subjects in your work?
Photography has been my backstage pass to everything and everyone. Taking pictures with an open heart and mind breaks down the walls.
Are there any artists that have been an inspiration, influence on your work?
Sure, plenty: Photographers Garry Winogrand (my teacher) and his pal Lee Friedlander, Hungarian photographer André Kertész, Texas’ own Russell Lee (who mentored me,) Life Magazine from the 60s. My peers, photographers of the 80s and 90s, especially other Texas Monthly contributors and the Art Directors, Renaissance painters, Classic movies too.