Dick Blau
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Dick Blau (born 1943) is a Professor of Film at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an important figure in the study of photography and the role of the camera in culture. He holds a BA in English from Harvard University (1965) and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University (1973).
His photographs and films have been exhibited internationally and are included in a number of important museum collections. His interests include psychological portraiture, experimental narrative, ethnography and performance art.
His books include Bright Balkan Morning: Romani Lives and the Power of Music in Greek Macedonia, Photographs by Dick Blau, Text by Charles and Angeliki Keil, Soundscape by Steven Feld (Wesleyan University Press, 2002), and Polka Happiness (Temple University Press Visual Studies Series, 1992), which he co-authored with Charles and Angeliki Keil. The book explores the dance music of generations of Polish Americans and emphasizes the shared sense of belonging embodied in "polka sociability." Interviews, memorabilia and photographs spotlight the stars of the polka world--Li'l Wally, Walt Solek, Eddie Blazonczyk, Frankie Yankovic, the Dyna-Tones--as well as regional favorites in Buffalo, New York, Milwaukee, and Chicago. The book also traces the role of the International Polka Association in establishing networks and providing an environment in which Polish Americans can celebrate their cultural heritage.
In 2003, Blau published with Jane Gallop, his long-term partner and the mother of their two children, Max and Ruby, a book of photographs of their family: Living With His Camera, Text by Jane Gallop/Photographs by Dick Blau (Duke University Press). The book embodies the theory of domestic photography, and it has been both praised and blasted for its portrayal of the mundaneness of everyday life. The text, written by Gallop, ties these reality-based photographs to books on cameras, photography, and theories of visual studies by such authors as Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag.
In addition to his work writing about and teaching film and photography, Blau is a professor in the UWM's Center on Aging and Community, and his interest in aging has led to him make a photographic documentary about the TimeSlips Project. In 1999, his TimeSlips photographs were included in the "Time of Our Lives" show at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City as well in The Drama Review and Contemporary Long Term Care. Blau has also served as Artistic Director for "A Good Day Begins," four videotapes about adult day care centers and their clients.
Furthermore, Blau has a great interest in basketball and has frequently focused his lens on the basketball teams of UWM. This frequent activity led to a close friendship with former UWM basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl admired his work, and when he left for Tennessee asked Blau to accompany him as his official photographer. Blau can now be frequently spotted roaming the sidelines of Volunteers' games.
Some of Blau's films include "Up the Block One Sunday" (1982), "Tintinnabula" (1986), "Jidyll" (1990), and "Panthers Roll" (2004), all of which were produced for Canyon Cinemas in San Francisco.
