Joseph Szabo's "American Teen" Reissued by Sofia Coppola's Important Flowers

"American Teen," a new photographic collection by Joseph Szabo, has been published by Sofia Coppola's Important Flowers, an imprint of Mack. The majority of these images were captured during the 1970s and 1980s at Malverne High School on Long Island, where Szabo began teaching darkroom photography in 1973 after receiving his M.F.A. from Pratt Institute. Now eighty-two, Szabo frequently carried a camera, documenting events for the yearbook and various locations, including a Rolling Stones concert in Philadelphia and a bar co-owned by Tony Danza. Kim Gordon provides a brief introduction, noting that Szabo's work reflects life in a time before social media. Coppola discovered Szabo's photography on the cover of Dinosaur Jr.'s 1991 album "Green Mind," featuring a twelve-year-old girl named Priscilla smoking on the beach. She admired the intimacy in his work, where subjects appear relaxed and unguarded. The book showcases scenes of teenage life, including couples kissing and girls at desks, embodying a spontaneous, pre-digital aesthetic.