Paul Graham
Timken Lecture Hall, California College of the Arts, San Francisco
British photographer Paul Graham belongs to a group of photographers born in the 1950s who formed the last generation to engage with photographic practice before it became part of the contemporary art world.
Graham was among the first photographers to unite contemporary color practice with the classic genre of “social documentary.” In 1981–82 he completed A1—The Great North Road, a series of color photographs from along the length of the British A1 road. This work had a transformative effect on the black-and-white tradition that had dominated British art photography up to that point.
Graham’s work distinguishes itself by retaining a firm and full commitment to life as it unfolds—to an understanding that at its core photography begins with an unblinking engagement with the world. Embracing this crucial axiom of photography, Graham’s work affirms this central area of photographic practice by expanding its visual language, and questioning what photography can say, be, or look like.
He now lives and works in New York City.
Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Program
Pier 24 Photography is pleased to present the Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Program in collaboration with California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Each year, the Larry Sultan Visiting Artist Program brings six photographers, writers, and curators to San Francisco to offer free and open lectures, and to work one-on-one with students at California College of the Arts.
Larry Sultan Photography Award
Jonathan Calm
Fall 2019 Residency
Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
Click HERE for more information on the Larry Sultan Photography Award
Jonathan Calm is a visual artist who works in photography, video, installation, and performance. A central theme of his work is the relationship between photography and urban architecture, and the powerful role of images in the way architectural constructs shape the lives of individuals and communities.
In his most recent work, Calm explores the complex representation of African-American automobility from a historical and contemporary perspective, focusing and drawing on the importance and resonance of the Negro Motorist Green Book. Of this project, he explains, “the image of the infinite highway and the unbridled freedom to roam the land has always been considered a quintessential expression of the modern American spirit, but the black American experience of travel, which involves heightened subjectivity and exposure, has to this day proven a precarious privilege rather than an inalienable right.”
Calm’s art practice is international in scope and has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Frequency at the Studio Museum in Harlem (2005); Role Play at the Tate Britain (2006); Black Is, Black Ain’t at the University of Chicago’s Renaissance Society (2008); Streetwise at the Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid (2008) and the Chelsea Art Museum (2011); deCordova Biennial at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (2013); and Rooted Movements at LMAKprojects in New York City (2014). Calm currently lives in Palo Alto, CA where he is a faculty member in the Department of Art and Art History at Stanford University.
Artist Videos
