Mark Cohen (photographer)
| Mark Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1943 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Home town | Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania |
Mark Cohen (born 1943) is an American photographer best known for his innovative close-up street photography.
Life and career
Cohen was born and lived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania until 2013. He attended Penn State University and Wilkes College between 1961 and 1965, and opened a commercial photo studio in 1966.[1] Cohen’s photography was first exhibited in the 1969 exhibition Vision and Expression organised by Nathan Lyons at George Eastman House.[2][3]
The majority of the photography for which Cohen is known is shot in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area (also known as the Wyoming Valley), a historic industrialized region of northeastern Pennsylvania. Characteristically Cohen photographs people close-up, using a wide-angle lens and a flashgun, mostly in black and white, frequently cropping their heads from the frame, concentrating on small details.[4] He has used 21 mm, 28 mm and 35 mm focal length, wide-angle, lenses and later on 50 mm.[5]
Cohen has published three monographs, Grim Street (2005); True Color (2007), work in colour originating as a commission from George Eastman House; and Italian Riviera (2008), made along the Levante Riviera, during his stay in Rapallo, Liguria.
He has twice been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, in 1971[6] and 1976, and received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1975.[7]
Cohen has described his method as 'intrusive'.[8] "They're not easy pictures. But I guess that's why they're mine."[9]
Discussing his influences with Thomas Southall in 2004[8] he cites ". . . so many photographers who followed Cartier-Bresson, like Frank, Koudelka, Winogrand, Friedlander." He also recognises the influence of Diane Arbus.[9] Whilst acknowledging these influences he says: "I knew about art photography...Then I did these outside the context of any other photographer."[9]
In 2013 Cohen moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[5]
Publications
Books by Cohen
- Mark Cohen, Photographer: A Monograph. 1980. 38 pp. OCLC 14157788.[10]
- Mark Cohen: October 10 – December 13, 1981. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1981. 24 pp. OCLC 8793002.
- Images: A Photographic Essay of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Avoca, PA: Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1982. 58 pp. OCLC 40750751.
- Five Minutes in Mexico: Photographs. [Wilkes-Barre, PA]: The [Sordoni Art] Gallery, 1989. 71 pp. ISBN 0-942945-00-X.
- Grim Street. New York: powerHouse, 2005. ISBN 1-57687-230-0.
- True Color. New York: powerHouse, 2007. ISBN 1-57687-372-2. Text by Vince Aletti.
- Italian Riviera. Rome: Punctum Press, 2008. ISBN 978-8-895410-16-6. Edition of 40 copies.
- Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence. Self-published / CreateSpace, 2012. ISBN 978-1456563738. Catalogue of the exhibition Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, January 2010 to March 2011, curated by Peter Barbiere.
- Dark Knees. Paris: Editions Xavier Barral, 2013. ISBN 978-2-365110-42-6. "Wilkes-Barre and around Pennsylvania 1969–2012". "Published on the occasion of the exhibition Mark Cohen Dark Knees at [Le Bal] in Paris between September 27 and December 8, 2013 and at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam between November 8, 2014 and January 11 2015."
Contributions to publications
- Contatti. Provini d'Autore = Choosing the best photo by using the contact sheet. Vol. I. Edited by Giammaria De Gasperis. Rome: Postcart, 2012. ISBN 978-88-86795-87-6.
Books about Cohen
- Wonders Seen in Forsaken Places: An essay on the photographs and the process of photography of Mark Cohen by Alphonso Lingis. Self-published / CreateSpace, 2010. ISBN 978-1442180536.
Solo exhibitions
- 1973: Photographs by Mark Cohen, Museum of Modern Art. MoMA exhibition #1027.[11]
- 1975: Art Institute of Chicago.[12]
- 2010/2011: Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence, Philadelphia Museum of Art.[13]
- 2013: Mark Cohen: Italian Riviera, 2008, Maslow Collection at Marywood University, Scranton, PA.[14]
- 2013: Dark Knees (1969 - 2012), Le Bal, Paris.[15]
- 2014: Mark Cohen, Danziger Gallery, New York, NY.[5]
Permanent collections
Cohen's work is held in the following permanent collections:
- Whitney Museum of American Art[16]
- Metropolitan Museum of Art[17]
- George Eastman House[18]
- Museum of Modern Art[6]
- Art Institute of Chicago[6]
- Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[6]
- Musee de la Photographie, Belgium[6]
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston[6]
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia[6]
- Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts[6]
- The Polaroid Collection, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts[6]
References
- ↑ "Mark Cohen" (PDF). Brucesilverstein.com. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ↑ Nathan Lyons, Vision and Expression (New York: Horizon Press, 1969).
- ↑ George Eastman House bio.
- ↑ "Photography: Mark Cohen", Profiles in Excellence. Penn State Public Broadcasting, 1982. Here at Penn State on Demand. (Starts at 1′43″.)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Estrin, James (8 May 2014). "Pictures on the Street? It’s Complicated". New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Mark Cohen, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ NEA 1975 Annual report (PDF), page 97.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 2004 interview with Thomas Southall, in Grim Street.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 2004 interview with Anne Wilkes Tucker, in the preface to Grim Street.
- ↑ According to WorldCat, "Also published as Camera, 1980, no. 3."
- ↑ "Exhibition History List". MoMA. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ↑ "1975 News Releases", Art Institute of Chicago.
- ↑ "Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
- ↑ "MARK COHEN: Italian Riviera, 2008", Marywood University.
- ↑ Moroz, Sarah (22 October 2013). "Mark Cohen: the photographer who literally shoots from the hip". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- ↑ Four unspecified items, according to the alphabetical listing of artists. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ Two items, according to the alphabetical listing of artists, including Girl with Skipping Rope, the cover image of Grim Street. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
- ↑ 129 items, detailed in the checklist of artists. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
External links
- Comprehensive list of Cohen's exhibitions (PDF)
- Cohen explains and demonstrates how he works, Contemporary Photographie in the USA (Spring 1982), Michael Engler Filmproduktion (6 m video)
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