Artist Statement
My photographs are concerned with people, places and things close to me. For ten years I photographed the AIDS crisis in New York after losing many friends, and later two small African American Evangelical churches in my Brooklyn neighborhood. Now in San Bernardino, CA I have photographed local professional wrestlers, hand painted signs and murals and the local car culture. My interest is in examining how we construct our identities and communities and hope my images will tell viewers something about this time and place.
Process Statement
I enjoy the analog print making process so I mostly shoot film and print gelatin silver, chromogenic development prints, and recently inkjet prints.
Born in Kansas City, MO. Started making photographs in 1976 and studied with John Gossage and Arnold Kramer at the University of Maryland from 1976 - 1980. Moved to New York City in 1980 and began working on ten year project "Bearing Witness (to AIDS) in 1987. Freelance photographer from 1988 to 1995 for Village Voice, New York Newsday, New York Times and others. Photo Editor of Village Voice from 1992 - 1994 and founded the Voice Photo Grant. Completed BA at Empire State College in NYC in 1988. First solo exhibition in 1984 at O.K.Harris in NYC and first photographs acquired by the Baltimore Museum of Art. Other acquisitions include The Brooklyn Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, New York Historical Society, Brooklyn Historical Society and the Museum of Fine Art, Houston. Photographed historic and vernacular architecture in Brooklyn from 1982 - 1995.
Accepted teaching position at Union College in Schenectady, NY in 1995 and began photographing Erie Canal and historic architecture around the Mohawk River. Moved to Southern California in 1997 to pursue MFA at California State University with Eileen Cowin. Began writing art criticism for Artweek, Art Issues, Art Papers and Afterimage magazines.
"Bearing Witness (to AIDS)" published in 1999 by Visual AIDS/A.R.T. Press. Accepted full time teaching position in 2000 at California State University, San Bernardino.
"Hard Boys + Bad Girls" (Schiffer Books) and "Amazing Grace" (Parker) published in 2010.
Founded Dotphotozine (magazine and website) in 2011.
"Vital Signs" will be published by Heyday Books in Fall 2013.
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