Garry Winogrand’s The Animals is an exploration of human-animal interactions, primarily photographed between 1962 and 1969 at the Central Park Zoo, the Bronx Zoo, and the Coney Island Aquarium. Known for his dynamic and spontaneous street photography, Winogrand turned his lens towards the zoo environment, capturing moments of absurdity, humor, and irony. The project marked a departure from his urban street photography while maintaining his signature tilted horizons, wide-angle compositions, and layered framing that invited the viewer into his chaotic yet meticulously composed scenes.
The zoo, as a microcosm of society, provided a fertile ground for Winogrand to investigate themes of captivity, observation, and the artificial boundaries between species. The interactions he captured—children reaching toward animals, couples posing with chimpanzees, and figures staring through enclosures—exposed a strange mirroring of behavior between humans and animals, often with comical or unsettling juxtapositions. The work has been interpreted as a social satire, reflecting anxieties of the 1960s, including themes of segregation, containment, and voyeurism. However, Winogrand himself stated that his work was not about social commentary but rather an exploration of how the world looks in photographs.
Winogrand's method, characterized by rapid shooting, an aversion to cropping, and an embrace of serendipity, reinforced the unpredictable and often surreal quality of his photographs. The images were published in his first photobook, The Animals (1969), which coincided with an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, marking a pivotal moment in his career. Initially overlooked, the project has since gained recognition as a critical examination of both human and animal behavior, questioning the constructed nature of social spaces.
The black-and-white images, rich in tonal contrast, heighten the starkness and absurdity of the zoo experience. Some of the most notable photographs, such as a couple holding dressed-up chimpanzees or an elephant's trunk reaching toward an outstretched hand, have been widely discussed for their ambiguity and layered meaning. Over time, The Animals has been reassessed as a key work within Winogrand's oeuvre, influencing generations of photographers by challenging notions of documentary objectivity and encouraging a more interpretive, personal approach to social observation.
Published by MoMA in 1969 to coincide with Winogrand’s first solo museum show (The Animals, 1969–1970), the book has stayed visible through reprints (MoMA, 2004) and regular inclusion in major retrospectives (e.g., SFMOMA; National Gallery of Art, Washington; The Met; Jeu de Paume, 2013–15). Recognition from the period—including Winogrand’s second Guggenheim Fellowship (1969) and his prominence in MoMA’s New Documents (1967)—also helped secure the project’s ongoing place in exhibitions and photobook histories.
