Long before the campaign rallies, the presidential debates, and the White House, Barack Obama was just another college freshman trying to figure out who he wanted to become.
A newly released collection of photographs offers a rare glimpse into that version of Obama during his freshman year at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Taken in the early 1980s by photographer Lisa Jack, the images capture a young Obama wearing a wide-brimmed Panama hat, lounging with friends, smoking cigarettes, and carrying himself with the relaxed confidence of someone who had no idea the entire world would one day recognize his face.
What makes the series compelling isn’t that it reveals some hidden side of the president. Quite the opposite. It humanizes someone who, over the last two years, has become one of the most photographed and analyzed people on the planet. Before the speeches, the Secret Service, and the endless political commentary, there was simply Barry, a college student navigating campus life like millions of others.
Today, M+B Gallery in West Hollywood opens an exhibition featuring 21 of the 36 photographs from the series. The collection has already generated plenty of attention, not because the images are scandalous, but because they feel surprisingly ordinary. They document the quiet moments that history usually forgets.
Unfortunately, being stuck here in Virginia means we won’t be making the trip to Los Angeles anytime soon. If you’re in the area, however, it looks like a fascinating exhibition worth checking out. For the rest of us, here are a few selections from the series that offer a glimpse of a future president long before the weight of the office found him.
