Bill Owens takes on suburban life

This Friday, April 17 the Hayward Area Recreation & Park District’s PhotoCentral will be presenting Bill Owens’ Five Decades of Photography.

“I hope they have good beer,” said Owens who was also the founder of the Buffalo Bill’s micro-brewery on B Street in Downtown Hayward. Owens says that he’s been making wine ever since he was a kid and brewing beer ever since he was 18. Owens is also the founder and the president of the American Distilling Institute.

Before that his career began as a photographer for the Livermore, California Independent newspaper in 1976. But in 1973 he released Suburbia, a book of photos that chronicled the middle-class during the mid-century suburban storm, nice houses, cars, and white picket fences. Owens captured it all through a lens at the beginning of this trends’ sweep across American soil.

Geir Jordahl will be directing this Friday’s opening exhibition. Jordahl founded PhotoCentral in 1983 with his wife Kate and he holds Owens’ name in high regard.

“This (Suburbia) changed the face of photography because it was simply a slice of life,” said Jordahl, “this is not your conventional art show.”

And Suburbia is not the only book that Owens has released. In 1976 he released Our Kind Of People. In 1978 he released Working. His latest work is Leisure and that was published in 2004. Jordahl also plans to showcase his exclusive photos from when Owens took a trip with the Peace Corp in 1964 to Jamaica for two years.

“I was trying to save the world,” said Owens.

Long-time friend of Owens, David Steffes, says that he joined Owens on his 70th birthday at his home in the Bay Area. Stephens also says that Owens has a very distinct way of portraying California’s ‘common wealth.’

“I wore a shirt of his yesterday,” says Steffes, “I think the picture was taken at Woodstock.”

Owens is well known around the Hayward Downtown Area from the brewery, to Moe’s Books and the Bistro next door. An employee at Moe’s Books says that she’ll have to take the shrink wrap off some of the Owens’ books so he can autograph them.

“A friend of mine says that ‘we’re spending an entire week on him in our photography class,'” says the Moe’s Books employee.

Jordahl of PhotoCentral is looking forward to this Friday’s opening night.

“The multi-faceted person behind these photos,” says Jordahl, “this is a story of his life which is why we are calling this Bill Owens’ Five Decades of Photography.”