Families Get Awkward At Southampton Arts Center

It all started with a photograph—an awkward photograph, actually.It was one that Mike Bender had long since forgotten about until five years ago, when he visited his parents in Florham Park, New Jersey, and found the shot of him and his brother, Chris, hanging on the living room wall. The boys are posing on skis, each with one leg in the air, on either side of their father, Jules, atop a mountain, sometime in 1992.

“I couldn’t understand why they were memorializing what was a really awkward moment in our lives,” Mr. Bender laughed last week during a telephone interview from his home in California. “But it stuck with me.”

The photo sparked a conversation with his longtime friend Doug Chernack. And as it turned out, he had a house full of similar pictures from his childhood—many of them just as awkward.

Mr. Bender was not alone.

Realizing the potential for hilarity, the pair launched the website Awkward Family Photos in 2009, as a way for others around the world to relate in a completely safe, empathetic and hysterical environment.

One week and one million hits later, the website was a viral internet sensation, featured in The New York Times and on NBC’s “Today,” among countless other venues. It has since taken on a life of its own, Mr. Bender said, evolving and spreading the awkwardness in three books, calendars and greeting cards—not to mention a nationwide art exhibition, which is coming to the Southampton Arts Center on Friday.

“We had no idea where it was going, and we really didn’t have a vision for it beyond starting it,” Mr. Bender said of the website Awkward Family Photos. “We just thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool

if people sent in their awkward photos?’ and it kind of launched from there. It was bizarre.”

A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, Mr. Bender had always aimed to be a writer, first working as an intern at New Line Cinema in Manhattan before going on to write for the MTV Movie Awards. There, he made the connections that would lead him to the screenwriting team for the 2001 film “Not Another Teen Movie.”

So, when the men started Awkward Family Photos—their debut virtual venture—they couldn’t have known what they were getting themselves into.

“I was a writer for many years—that was my career,” Mr. Bender said. “At the time, we had never even set up a Facebook profile page. It was a learning experience.”

It is safe to say they have figured it out. To date, the website has received more than 200,000 photo submissions and racks up at least three million unique visitors every month, who peruse the holiday photos, family portraits and glamour shots in all their awkward glory. And, starting this weekend and continuing through January 4, a selection of those photos will be hanging in the Southampton Arts Center.

“The holidays are a time when everyone is experiencing family, awkwardly or not,” said Michele Thompson, director of the Southampton Arts Center, “and we thought it would be fun to recognize that by bringing this exhibition that has been all over the country to Southampton.”

The 200 photos include some of the team’s all-time favorites. For Mr. Bender, it’s a family of four sitting in their living room. In the foreground is a large red couch, which the family members are circled behind, except for one.

“The couch is just empty, and you can’t help but wonder why they are not on it,” he laughed. “It is one of those really subtle, amazing photos.”

Other staff favorites have landed in the Hall of Fame. They range from smiling babies flipping the bird to cringe-worthy matching couples, uncomfortable pregnancy portraits and forced family gatherings.

One shot that has made its way around the internet in the last year features a family of four standing on the beach. Mom and dad are swinging one happy child between them for the shot, while the other child falls headfirst out of a panicking mother’s arms. The comical shot is followed by a much happier photo, with both children secure in their parents’ arms, posing with the other picture framed behind them.

“I [watched] my son gracefully do a full backward layout and land flat on his back in the sand,” the father wrote in a description with the photo. “He’s stunned for a moment, cries for a minute, but after about two minutes of sniffling he’s back to his regular self, smiling and laughing.”

Some of the posted photos pack twice the awkwardness, when families re-create an already awkward family picture years later. In one example, a family of six stands up against a wall while three brothers lift their shirts up to show off their bellies. A little girl looks shocked in the 1987 picture, while dad gives mom bunny ears.

The original picture itself is funny—but paired with the same poses in 2012, it is hysterical.

For families lacking in this department, the Southampton Arts Center will set up a selfie photo booth, complete with a series of props. The options are limitless, Ms. Thompson said, for awkwardness.

“People know the name ‘Awkward Family Photos,’ and I hope that it is a trusted brand name,” Mr. Bender said. “People understand that we are treating these photos with respect and humor, and we are having fun at the same time. Ultimately, it started with my photo, so we are no less awkward than anybody else. That is the spirit that runs through it. The heart of it remains the same—people sharing their awkward moments.”

“Awkward Family Photos: The Exhibition” will open on Friday, November 28, at the Southampton Arts Center and remain on view through January 4. Hours are Fridays through Sundays, noon to 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. On Saturday, December 13, a free holiday celebration with wine, cider and cookies will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Reservations are recommended. For more information, call (631) 283-0967, or visit southamptoncenter.org.