Of the inspirations for Robert Longo's Men in the Cities series of photographs, fine art prints, and original works were theatrical death scenes played out in movies. In the mid-1970s, Longo first photographed his friend and collaborator Kevin Noble as he mimicked these dramatic scenes, and he expanded upon this concept later from the rooftop of his New York apartment. To emulate the jerking motion of a body met with impact, Longo photographed his models' flinching reactions as he threw objects at them. The photographs were transferred to drawings using an overhead projector. Men in the Cities comments on the need for individual expression in the face of conformity and societal expectations. The series made Longo famous after their debut at Metro Pictures, New York in 1981 and continues to be one of his most defining bodies of work.
