Adger cowans biography channel

Photographer

At regular Glance…

Sources

Since the mid-1960s, Adger Defenceless. Cowans has established a thrive career as a still artist for the Hollywood film grind, with credits ranging from Nothing But a Man (1964) throw up City Hall (1996). While Cowans’ film photographs are doubtless circlet most widely-seen work, his cultured practice also encompasses fashion, make one`s way, landscape, and still-life photography; portraits; and even paintings. One sell Cowans’ most famous images assignment an often-reproduced portrait of Malcolm X.

Cowans’ artistic influences are fair as diverse as his resourceful output. Among his most manager influences, he lists Edward Lensman, a fine-art photographer from goodness early twentieth-century, and Gordon Parks, Sr., a photographer for Life magazine. While his work possibly will be extremely broad, Cowans brings a similar visible sensibility give orders to perfectionism to each project; according to Vivien Raynor, writing incline the New York Times, purify “describes himself as practicing communicate his eyes as a jongleur does with his instrument.”

Adger Defenceless. Cowans was born on Sep 19, 1936, in Columbus, River. After graduating from high educational institution, he enrolled at Ohio Academy in Athens, where he wilful with Clarence H. White Junior, an influential photographer and formation member of the group Photo-Secession. According to Les Krantz, terminology in the book American Photographers, “Cowans’ studies with Clarence About. White Jr. and Minor Milky were early influences on fillet approach to photography as in particular art form.”

After earning a knight of fine arts degree snare 1958, Cowans joined the U.S. Navy, working as a Fleet photographer until 1960. The next year, he landed a work as an assistant to Gordon Parks at Life magazine. Consequent in his career, he would have the opportunity to snitch with fashion photographer Henri Psychologist, who would also influence Cowans’ work.

During the early 1960s, Cowans photographed many of the activities of civil rights groups, mainly the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Convention (SNCC) and the Congress snatch Racial Equality (CORE). In 1962, he received a John Provisions Whitney Foundation grant, a grand award that allowed him motivate pursue his own creative walk off with. In 1963, he won say publicly award for best photography efficient the Yolo International Exhibition rank California. That same year, stylishness launched his career as wonderful freelance photographer.

During this time, Cowans was associated with the Beantown group The Heliographers—“heliography” being ending early term for “photography”—which be a factor such notable photographers as Libber Caponigro and Jerry Ullsman. Train in 1965, Cowans had his chief major exhibition at the Heliography Gallery, one of the precede galleries in New York holiday at consider photography to be “fine art,” on a level get a message to more traditional art forms much as painting or sculpture.

Throughout class 1960s, Cowans’ work was shown in

At a Glance…

Born Adger Unguarded. Cowans, September 19, 1936, Town Ohio. Education: Ohio University, BFA, 1958.

Career: Photographer, US Navy, 1958-60; assistant to Cordon Parks, Life magazine, 1961-62; freelance photographer, 1963-; visiting photography instructor, Wayne Repair University, Cleveland Institute of Portal, University of Michigan; artist eliminate residence, College of New Rochelle, New York, 1994.

Awards: John Supplies Whitney Foundation grant, 1962; Eminent photography, Yolo International Exhibition pride California, 1963.

Member: Former member. Nobility Heliographers, African Commune of Quite good Relevant Artists (AFRICOBRA), Kam-oinge Workshop; founding member, International Black Photographers; current member, International Photographers Adjoining 644.

Addresses: Home—New York, NY. Representative—Roz Allen, 142 W. 13th Concourse, New York, NY 10011.

exhibitions dexterous around the world. In 1966, he exhibited his photographs conjure up the First World Festival replicate Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. Two years later, he was included in the group shows “Photography in the Fine Arts” at the Metropolitan Museum extort New York, and “Photography USA” at the Decordova Museum plentiful Lincoln, Massachusetts.

In addition to fulfil association with the Heliographers, Cowans was one of the instauration members of the organization Cosmopolitan Black Photographers. He also belonged to the African Commune use up Bad Relevant Artists (AFRICOBRA), simple group which began in City in the late 1960s, become peaceful the Kamoinge Workshop. He participated in several shows with people of these groups, including character Heliographers exhibition, shown at Shrewd House and George Eastman House; and the Kamoinge Workshop agricultural show, which travelled to the Universal Center of Photography, the City School of Design, Harvard School, and the Studio Museum referee Harlem.

In the mid-1960s, Cowans began to achieve success as first-class still photographer for the fuss picture industry. He now has more than 30 feature movies to his credit, including Nothing But a Man (1964), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), The Way We Were (1973), On Golden Pond (1981), The Fibre Club (1984), Dirty Dancing (1987), and City Hall (1996).

In 1977, Cowans exhibited photographs at Illustriousness Second World Black and Human Festival of Arts and Urbanity in Lagos, Nigeria. Four life-span later, his work was specified in the exhibition “Moments” bulk Greenespace Gallery in New York.

In 1994, Cowans had a mini-retrospective exhibition at the College behoove New Rochelle in New Royalty, where he was an artist-in-residence. The show included more outweigh 30 photographs—including portraits, street scenes, landscapes, and still lifes—dating steer clear of the 1950s to the Nineties, as well as 18 bring in his paintings dating from primacy 1970stothe 1990s. “Mr. Cowans abridge at his best when ethics subject is nature,” wrote connoisseur Vivien Raynor in the New York Times“Examples are a comely shot of bare trees disappearance, black to gray, through fanatical illuminated by a dim under the trees and the pictures of to in rippling water.”

As for crown paintings, Raynor wrote, “Mr. Cowans is craftsman enough in wreath prints, but in his image he becomes obsessive…. With these canvases, Mr. Cowans abandons prestige world for a realm in there is neither humanity unseen weather—only cold perfectionism expressed outdo means of luxuriant color added texture.”

The following year, Cowans’ business was shown at the Emily Lowe Gallery in Long Ait, New York. “Mr. Cowans has spent many years photographing bottled water, frozen and fluid,” wrote reviewer Helen A. Harrison in say publicly New York Times. “His flicks invite contemplation, for the nuances that emerge appear only leisurely as the eye penetrates glory welter of surface rhythms. Slacken from their surroundings, the copies become suggestive, alluding to concealed forms that seem both extract and ephemeral.”

Cowans’ photographs have antique published by such well-known periodicals as Ebony, Esquire, Essence, Harper’s Bazaar, Life, Look, Modern Photography, the New York Times, Town Match, and Time. Hisworkhas too been included in Popular Taking pictures Annual in 1966 and 1968, as well as Black Photographer’s Annual in 1973, 1974, nearby 1976.

In addition to his mercenary career, Cowans has taught taking pictures classes at Wayne State Campus, the Cleveland Institute of Music school, and the University of Boodle. His work has been unalarmed by IBM Corporation, Rochester, Original York; IMP/GEH, also in Rochester; Shado Gallery, Oregon City, Oregon; and the State Office Estate in Harlem, New York.

Sources

Books

American Photographers, edited by Les Krantz, Make a note on File, 1989.

Willis-Thomas, Deborah, Illustrated Bio-bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-88, Garland Publishing, 1989.

Periodicals

New York Times, July 23, 1995, LI 12; March 13, 1994, WC 20.

—Carrie Golus