Lyle Owerko

Lyle Owerko
Born Lyle Owerko
Calgary, Canada
Alma mater Pratt Institute
Occupation Photojournalism, Director
Notable credit(s) His TIME cover picture of WTC attack have been called one of the most important in 40 years.
Website
owerko.com

Lyle Owerko is a filmmaker and photographer whose work has ranged from Sundance Channel to Time to MTV. His photos are collected by many business, entertainment and celebrity clients,[1][2] they have been used in several films including Henry Singer's The Falling Man and The Omen (2006 film), as well as books such as Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.[3] His work is also included in the permanent archive of the Library of Congress[4] in Washington DC. Owerko travels extensively around the world each year shooting assignments and personal work. He resides in New York City.

Early life and education

Lyle Owerko was raised in Calgary, Canada. He studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where he earned a Masters in Science degree in the communication arts program.

Career

Photography and Fine Art

In 2005 Princeton Architectural Press published Jennifer New's book Drawing From Life, which featured Owerko's journals as well as those of Mike Figgis, David Byrne, Carol Beckwith and Maira Kalman.[5]

In 2006 Owerko traveled to Africa as part of Dr. Jeffrey Sachs’ Millennium Promise initiative, documenting the lives of the Lau people of Sauri, Kenya.[6] Current initiatives range from the multi-media exhibition, to an art installation of large-scale portraits of the Samburu Warrior tribe.[7][8]

In 2010 Abrams published The Boombox Project, his historical overview of the history of a seminal pop-culture icon.[9] That same year Hasselblad Cameras named him a "Hasselblad Master" for his work as a fine art photojournalist.

Lyle's work can be seen in many museum and private collections including the Victoria & Albert in London, which holds part of his Boombox collection in their permanent archive of 20th-century historically significant objects. His work can been seen at Clic Gallery in New York, Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, and Whisper Fine Art in London.

Journalism

Owerko shot the photograph featured on the cover of Time on September 11, 2001, the day of the 9/11 attacks, which showed an explosion at the WTC.[10] In 2005 the American Society of Magazine Editors ranked it as 25th out of a list of the 40 most important magazine covers in the last 40 years.[11]

A portion of Owerko’s personal work as a photographer can be viewed in the self-published book And No Birds Sang, featuring images he took from September 11, 2001.[12]

Music Videos

Owerko has worked with a number of musicians including Jesse Harris, Rufus Wainwright and American Hi-Fi. He shot the music video for the first single on Jesse Harris' 2007 album Feel. He also directed a tour documentary for American Hi-Fi's 2001 tour and his photo of a smashed boombox became the cover for the album Rock n'Roll Noodle Shop: Live from Tokyo. In 2012 Lyle directed a series of music videos for Jesse Harris using purely an iPhone.[13] In 2013 he also directed the video for the title track of Jesse Harris' album "Borne Away".[14]

Advertising

Owerko has directed Robert Redford in a series of Sundance Channel commercial spots. He also worked with Compound shooting live action elements for the 1999 IBM e-culture campaign that led to a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Awards

New York Art Directors Club

National Press Photographers Association

American Photography

References

  1. ↑ Keys, Alicia. "Singer". Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Burns, Edward. "Filmmaker". New York Magazine. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  3. ↑ cuspconference.com (2012). "Presenters". cuspconference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Library of Congress". Sept. 11th Web Archives. Time Magazine. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  5. ↑ New, Jennifer (2012). "Drawing from Life". jennifernew.com. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ Owerko, Lyle (2012). "Millennium Promise". apogeephoto.com. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ Owerko, Lyle (2012). "Faces of Poverty Project". pub. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ nppa.org (2012). "2nd Place, Serial Portrait Package". nppa.org. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  9. ↑ Lucas, Dean (April 29, 2012). "The Second Plane". famouspictures.org. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  10. ↑ Mitsui, Evan (August 23, 2011). "The 9/11 cover that captured the world". CBC News. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ ASME (October 17, 2005). "ASME's Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years". magazine.org. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ Owerko, Lyle. And No Birds Sang (2002 ed.). Wonderlust Industries.- Total pages: 92
  13. ↑ "Video for Sad Blues by Jesse Harris". Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Video for Borne Away by Jesse Harris".

External links