Frank, from the series “Men in the Cities”

Frank, seen here, is frozen in a contorted twist. His knees buckle, arms rise, and head rotates awkwardly out of view while he is dressed formally in proper business attire—the uniform of a city-dwelling executive. Robert Longo’s curious depictions were described as portrayals of “the ‘customized’ urban figure,” when first exhibited in the 1980s.

These “urban figures” were not business men at all, but rather Longo’s friends from the art, film, and music scenes of downtown Manhattan. Longo invited them to pose for his project, and the outfits they wore reflect how they dressed going out to galleries and clubs, where underground cool was being defined. Longo associated the exaggerated gestures of his figures with the spastic dance moves popular at punk concerts his friends frequented. Whether corporate culture or counterculture, Longo highlighted individual conscription—even collapse—into social codes and customs.