The Photographer

I am a documentary portrait photographer interested in recording continuity and change in American culture for history and artistic purposes.  Although my work is not exclusively devoted to Native Americans, and I have photographed various other communities, they have been my primary subjects.

I made my first Native American portrait by chance on the street in St. Paul, Minnesota, more than two decades ago not long after I began photographing.  As I printed the Chippewa Indian's image, his face came up in the developer and captivated me—it was mystical, his expression indefinable and unknown to me.  The mystery of his persona, as revealed in that photograph, inspired my decision to photograph Native Americans.

Since that time, I have photographed the Navajo Nation in the southwest; the Shinnecock and Montauk Indians on Eastern Long Island; the Onondaga Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in upstate New York; and the artists and artisans of the Pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona.

Often asked why I photograph Native Americans, I endeavor to articulate my purpose:  collectively, Native Americans are an ancient people striving to retain their traditional way of life and integrity while confronting modern society and the dominant culture—I wanted to record them for history and art at the end of the twentieth century, continuing my work in the new millennium.  As individuals, they emanate an air of quiet wisdom and are a compellingly handsome people with strength and inner dignity written on their faces.  I believe this dignity is inherent in all people, but Native Americans seem to epitomize it and give it a visible presence that I try to present in my portraits.  And, remarkably, they give me permission to do so, in spite of their usual reluctance to be photographed, because they know Native Americans have been exploited by the camera throughout history.  It is by our collaboration—I with my camera, they with their permission and cooperation—that we create the essential images by which their future generations, and the outside world, will remember them. 

The texts to my books of photographs are primarily written by prominent and eloquent members from within the communities I photograph, since I want the people to speak for themselves.  In addition, there are contributions from distinguished authors empathetic to the material.  Although a visual artist, I am inspired to write for my books and given an experiential account of the journey through the worlds I am privileged to photograph, recounting my impressions of the people and their landscape, and the circumstances of creating the portraits.

My work also includes Commissioned Portraits of individuals, couples, families, and executives; Landscapes of the various areas of the country I have lived in to create my projects; and teaching—this June I will be teaching a course at  the Santa Fe Photo Workshops, Introduction to Creating a Photographic Project.

The portraits are in the Permanent Collections of prominent museums throughout the country, have been awarded prestigious grants and awards, published in books and articles, and exhibited in museums, universities and libraries.

COLLECTIONS

  • The Beinecke Library, Yale University – Tucker Archive
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
  • Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • New York Public Library
  • National Museum of The American Indian
  • Museum of The City of New York
  • Southwest Museum for Native American Art, Los Angeles
  • The Heard Museum, Phoenix
  • Musee Francais de la Photographie, France
  • Guild Hall Museum, Long Island, New York
  • Islip Art Museum, Long Island, New York
  • Polaroid Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Grand Marnier Foundation, France
  • Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Santa Fe, New Mexico
  • Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh
  • New York State Historical Society, Cooperstown, New York
  • The POEH Museum, Pueblo of Pojoaque NM
  • The Brooklyn Museum, New York
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • The Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque NM

AWARDS & GRANTS

  • 1995&1996 The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
  • 1994 Judith S. Randal Foundation
  • 1993 Daniele Agostino Foundation
  • 1991&1992 Grand Marnier Foundation, Supporting Native American Art & Culture
  • 1989&1990 Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities
  • 1989&1990 Arkansas Arts Council
  • 1989 New York Foundation for the Arts
  • 1989 Polaroid Foundation
  • 1986&1987 New York State Council on the Arts
  • 1985 Agfa-Gevaert Corporation
  • 1981 National Endowment for the Arts
  • 1979 Creative Artists Public Service Grant
  • 1978 1st Prize Phot Univers, Musee Francais de la Photographie, France

PUBLICATIONS

  • 2006 Mateo Romero, Cochiti Artist, School of American Research
  • 2003 Camera Arts, Featured Article Pueblo Artists, Portraits
  • *2002 SPIRIT OF FAMILY, Al & Tipper Gore, Holt Press (Included in collection)
  • 2001 Petersen's Photographic, Portrait of The Photographer
  • *1999 HAUDENOSAUNEE: Portraits of The Firekeepers, The Onondaga Nation, Syracuse University Press
  • *1998 PUEBLO ARTISTS, Portraits, Museum of New Mexico Press
  • *1996 HEBER SPRINGS PORTRAITS, Continuity & Change in the World Disfarmer Photographed
             University of New Mexico Press
  • 1995 X Magazine, Bi-lingual Arts & Culture, Mexico City
  • 1994 LIFE Magazine, Camera at Work
  • 1994&1998 Native Peoples Magazine, The Onondaga Nation, and Pueblo Artists
  • 1990 History & Archaeology of The Montauk Indians
  • 1986&1987 Sunday New York Times
  • 1982 Popular Photography
  • 1982 TIME/LIFE Photography Year
  • 1981 Camera Arts
  • 1980 Modern Photography

EXHIBITIONS

  • 2006 The Heart Gallery Collection, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe NM
  • 2005 HAUDENOSAUNEE: Portraits of The Firekeepers, The Onondaga Nation, Absolute Americana Gallery
  • 2004 St. John's College, Native American Portraits: The Southwest & The Northeast, Santa Fe NM
           The Heart Gallery Collection, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe NM
  • 2003 PhotoArts Governor's Gallery, Santa Fe NM
  • 2002 The Heart Gallery Collection, Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe NM
  • 1999 HAUDENOSAUNEE: Portraits of The Firekeepers, The Onondaga Nation
           New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown NY
  • 1998 Pueblo Artists, Wheelwright Museum of The American Indian, Santa Fe NM
  • 1998 Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh PA
  • 1998 Pueblo Artists, Southwest Museum for Native American Art, Los Angeles CA
  • 1998 Pueblo Artists, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown NY
  • 1998 Permanent Collection, Islip Art Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1998 Heber Springs Portraits, Port Washington Public Library, Long Island NY
  • 1997 Pueblo Artists, Permanent Collection, Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, Santa Fe NM
  • 1997 Pueblo Artists: An Evolving Tradition, State Capitol, Santa Fe NM
  • 1996 Heber Springs Portraits, Arkansas Art Center Museum, Little Rock AR
  • 1994 HAUDENOSAUNEE: Portraits of The Firekeepers, The Onondaga Nation
           The Everson Museum, Syracuse NY
  • 1993 Shinnecock Portraits, Port Washington Library, Long Island NY
  • 1992 Photokina '92, Polaroid International Collection, Cologne, Germany
  • 1992 Native Americans in Prints & Photographs, New York Public Library NYC
  • 1991 The Montauk: Native Americans of Eastern Long Island, Guild Hall Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1991 Shinnecock Portraits, Featured Artists/Permanent Collection, Islip Art Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1989 Shinnecock Portraits, Arkansas Art Center Museum, Little Rock AR
  • 1988 Shinnecock Portraits, Longyear Museum of Anthropology, Colgate University NY
  • 1988 Shinnecock Portraits, American Indian Archaeological Institute CT
  • 1987 Shinnecock Portraits, Guild Hall Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1987 Color Seascapes of The East End, Marine Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1985 Image/Insight, Islip Art Museum, Long Island NY
  • 1984 Contemporary American Portraiture, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM
  • 1983 Recent Portrait Photography, The Taft Museum, Cincinnati OH
  • 1982 Navajo Portraits, Museum of The American Indian NYC
  • 1982 Navajo Portraits, Twenty-Six Horses American Indian Art NYC
  • 1982 Navajo Portraits, ACA American Indian Arts NYC
  • 1981 Summer Light, Light Gallery NYC
  • 1981 Recent Portraiture, Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery NYC
  • 1981 Creative Artists Public Service Grant Recipients, New York State Museum, Albany NY
  • 1981 Permanent Collection, Museum of The City of New York NYC
  • 1980 Daytop Village Portraits, Education Gallery, International Center of Photography NYC
  • 1980 Daytop Village Portraits, CAPS Recipients, Nikon House NYC
  • 1975 to 1979 Exhibitions NYC

GUEST ARTIST

Light Work, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY
Apeiron Workshops, Millerton NY
Loomis-Chaffee School, Windsor CT

LECTURES

Museums, Libraries & Universities

TEACHING

International Center of Photography NYC