Stephen Wilkes

Stephen Wilkes is an American photographer known foremost for his series of abandoned structures such as at Ellis Island and the former Bethlehem Steel factory both which he has captured as a lost world caught in a sort of visual amber. The Wilkes photographic essay on Ellis Island "Ellis Island Ghosts" helped to raise six million dollars from the United States Congress for the preservation of the structures on the south side of the island, including the former hospital for infectious diseases.[1] His fine art and photo-journalism have been featured in such publications as Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, and The New York Times Magazine.

For more than two decades Stephen Wilkes has been widely recognized for his fine art and commercial photography. His photographs have been exhibited in both galleries and museums.

In 2000, Epson America commissioned Wilkes to create a millennial portrait of the United States, a 52-day odyssey that resulted in a critically acclaimed exhibition that traveled to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. The monograph, Ellis Island: Ghosts of Freedom (W. W. Norton) was published in 2006. Wilkes was featured on Weekend Edition with Scott Simon of NPR, CBS Sunday Morning with Martha Teichner and the book received high critical acclaim including Time Magazine’s Five Best Photography Books of The Year, 2006.

The newest body of work by Wilkes is entitled, Day to Night. The work embodies epic cityscapes of Manhattan and other major U.S. cities with fleeting moments throughout the day to night. Wilkes photographs them from one camera angle continuously for approximately 15 to 18 hours. A select group of images are then electronically blended into one photograph. Wilkes has gone on to expand the series to international locations including Shanghai, Israel, and Dubai.[2] Wilkes first came up with the idea of shooting multiple images across a landscape when taking the cast picture for Baz Lurman’s blockbuster Romeo and Juliet for Life Magazine, in 1996. It wasn’t until he was asked to shoot the High Line for New York Magazine that Stephen used this technique to show the passing of time. He is fascinated by architecture, people, and the cities of the world, but what he really loves to shoot is history. He has even shot Day to Night images of President Obama’s inauguration speech as well as New Year’s Eve in Times Square.

On November 4, 2012, CBS Sunday Morning featured Wilkes in a segment on his process in creating Day to Night images.

In 1999 Wilkes completed a personal project photographing the south side of Ellis Island: the ruined landscape of the infectious disease and psychiatric hospital wings, where children and adults alike were detained before they could enter the United States of America. Through his photographs and video work, Wilkes has inspired and helped secure $6 million in funding toward the restoration for the south side of the island.

Educated at Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, awards and honors to Wilkes include the Alfred Eisenstaedt Award for Magazine Photography, Photographer of the Year from Adweek Magazine, Fine Art Photographer of the Year 2004 Lucie Award, and the Epson Creativity Award. Works by Wilkes are in the permanent collection of the International Museum of Photography in the George Eastman House, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Dow Jones Collection, Griffin Museum of Photography, Jewish Museum of New York, Library of Congress, and numerous private collections.

Wilkes also shoots images for advertising campaigns for many of the world's leading agencies and corporations, including, SAP, IBM, PepsiCo, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Nike, Sony, Verizon, IBM, AT&T, Rolex, Honda, J.W.T., EuroRSCG, McCann Erickson, Ogilvy & Mather, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, and Rubin Postaer among others.Wilkes is represented by Peter Fetterman Gallery, Los Angeles; Clampart Galley in New York; and The Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Ghosts of Ellis Island". Pottsmerc. 19 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Durden, Tyler, "Day To Night" - 24 Hours Captured In A Single Frame: The Photo Gallery, Zero-hedge, 2013.12.25