David Stephenson (photographer)

David Stephenson (born 1955) is an American-Australian fine art photographer known for his representations of the sublime.[1] His photographic subjects have included landscapes from America to Australia, the Arctic and Antarctica, the Southern Ocean, European sacred architecture, and day- and nighttime skyscapes. He has lived in Tasmania since 1982.[2]

David Stephenson working with a Deardorff 5"x7" view camera along the Athabasca River, Jasper, Canada, 12 June 1981

Early life and education

David Stephenson was born in 1955 in Washington, D.C., the third child of two scientists, Elizabeth W. and John L. Stephenson.[2] While attending public schools in suburban Maryland, he took Saturday classes at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design under artists including Juan Downey. Drawn to nature and the environment from an early age, he was inspired by the writings and environmental advocacy of John Muir.[2] His love of the mountains drew him to Colorado, where he began undergraduate studies in the sciences and humanities at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1973. Classes with Gary Metz stimulated his growing interest in photography, and he completed a BFA in studio art and a BA in art history in 1979.[2] In Colorado he also met Robert Adams, who lived in nearby Longmont and was an early mentor.[2] He moved to Albuquerque in 1979 to start graduate studies at the University of New Mexico, working under Thomas Barrow, Beaumont Newhall, and Van Deren Coke.[2] Photographing across the American Southwest and California from 1979 to 1981 with a large format camera, and inspired by artistic precedents from Carleton Watkins to Robert Smithson, he produced his first major body of work, New Monuments, which focussed on industrial structures in the landscape.[3] After completing a Master of Arts in 1980, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant, which allowed him to travel to Alaska in 1981 to photograph the newly completed Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Responding to the Pipeline’s linearity and influenced by 19th century photographers such as Watkins, he first worked with panoramic composites in Alaska, a pictorial strategy he would return to periodically for subsequent series. Stephenson completed a Master of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico in 1982 with an exhibition of the Alaskan panoramas, and a dissertation on the 19th century photographers of the transcontinental railroad.[2] In 2001, he was awarded a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Tasmania.

Work

Stephenson moved to Australia in 1982 to take up a junior teaching position at the University of Tasmania School of Art, at the encouragement of Thomas Joshua Cooper, who had been teaching a summer school there. Agreeing to stay only for two years, in 1984 he was made a tenured faculty member and led the photography program at the school, along with later positions as postgraduate coordinator and research coordinator, until his retirement from teaching in 2013.[2]

Stephenson has worked on many long-term overlapping projects in his pursuit of the photographic representation of the sublime in time and space,[1] using a variety of medium format and large format cameras and film types, and more recently digital photography. An exploration of the relationship of photography to time has been a recurrent theme in his work, both through the use of long exposures, and the compositing of sequential exposures. His photographic series include New Monuments (1979-81),[3] Composite Landscapes (1982-88),[4] Clouds (1990-93),[5] Vast (1990-91), The Ice (1991-92),[6] Domes (1993-2005),[3] Vaults (2003-09),[7] Star Drawings (1995-2009),[8] Drowned (2001-02),[9][10] Marking Time (2003-05),[11][12] Light Cities (2005-13),[9] Time Slice (2014-22),[13] and Survivors (2019-22).[14]

Publications
  • Stars / photographs by David Stephenson; essay by Keith F. Davis, Julie Saul Gallery, New York, 1999.
  • Skeletons / photographs by David Stephenson; essay by Greg French, Space and Light, Fern Tree, 2003. ISBN 0975039504
  • Visions of Heaven: The Dome in European Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2005. ISBN 1-56898-549-5
  • Heavenly Vaults: From Romanesque to Gothic in European Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2009. ISBN 978-1-56898-840-5

Exhibitions

David Stephenson’s photographs have been presented in hundreds of group exhibitions and over sixty solo exhibitions including:

  • 1983: Australian Perspecta 1983, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
  • 1988: Australian Photography: the 1980's, Australian National Gallery, Canberra[15]
  • 1992: Location, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne[16]
  • 1993: David Stephenson: The Ice, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne[17]
  • 1994: Landed: Landscape Art in Australia, 1960-90, Australian National Gallery, Canberra
  • 1994: An American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and international tour
  • 1998: Sublime Space: David Stephenson Photographs 1989-98, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne[18]
  • 1999: Tempus Fugit/Time Flies, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City[19]
  • 2001: Space + Light: David Stephenson Photographs, 1982-1996, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
  • 2001: Starlight: David Stephenson Photographs, Cleveland Museum of Art[20]
  • 2002: Fieldwork: Australian Art 1968-2002, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne[6]
  • 2006: Symétries sublimes, photographies de David Stephenson, Centre Culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris[21]
  • 2007: Cross Currents: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney[22]
  • 2010: In the Balance, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney[23]
  • 2011: Transcendence: Photographs by David Stephenson, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne[24]
  • 2011: Luminous World – Contemporary Art from the Wesfarmers Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth[25]
  • 2013: Australia: land and landscape, Royal Academy of Arts, London; organised with National Gallery of Art, Canberra[4]
  • 2014 Perduti nel paesaggio/Lost in Landscape, Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, Italy[26]
  • 2015: The Photograph and Australia, Art Gallery of Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney[27]
  • 2017: David Stephenson: Human Landscapes, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney[28]
  • 2018: Noorderlicht International Photofestival IN VIVO | the nature of nature, Museum Belvédère, Heerenveen, The Netherlands[29]
  • 2019: Civilization: The Way We Live Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne[30]

Collections

Stephenson’s photographs are held in many public collections, including:

  • Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne[36]

Awards

References
  1. Hallmark Photographic Collection (1999). An American century of photography: From dry-plate to digital: The Hallmark Photographic Collection. Keith F. Davis (2nd ed., rev. and enl ed.). Kansas City, Mo.: Hallmark Cards Inc., in association with Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 978-0-8109-6378-8.
  2. Centre culturel Calouste Gulbenkian; Jorge Calado (2006). David Stephenson, symétries sublimes = Sublime symmetries: [Exposition], centre culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris, 2006. Lisbon: Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian. ISBN 972-8462-44-1.
  3. Stephenson, David (2005). Visions of heaven: The dome in European architecture. Victoria Hammond, Keith F. Davis. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-549-5.
  4. Thomas Keneally; Royal Academy of Arts (2013). Australia. London. ISBN 978-1-907533-45-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Hallmark Photographic Collection (1995). An American century of photography: From dry-plate to digital. Keith F. Davis, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. New York: Hallmark Cards, Inc. in association with H.N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-1964-8.
  6. Jason Smith; Charles Green; National Gallery of Victoria (2002). Fieldwork: Australian art 1968-2002. Melbourne, Vic.: National Gallery of Victoria. ISBN 0-7241-0213-2.
  7. Stephenson, David (2009). Heavenly vaults: From Romanesque to Gothic in European architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-840-5.
  8. Annear, Judy (2015). The photograph and Australia. Geoffrey Batchen, Daniel Palmer, Michael Aird, Jane Lydon, Kathleen Davidson, Martyn Jolly. Sydney, N.S.W. ISBN 978-1-74174-116-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. Miles, Melissa (2015). The language of light and dark: Light and place in Australian photography. Montreal. ISBN 978-0-7735-4550-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. Rachel Kent; Museum of Contemporary Art (2010). In the balance: Art for a changing world. Sydney, N.S.W.: Museum of Contemporary Art. ISBN 978-1-921034-45-9.
  11. French, Blair (2008). Twelve Australian photo artists. Daniel Palmer. Annandale, N.S.W.: Piper Press. ISBN 978-0-9751901-7-3. OCLC 270531428.
  12. "Works matching "david stephenson" | Art Gallery of NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  13. Middleton, Charlotte (2021-08-03). "2021 Hadley's Art Prize winner announced". Art Collector Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  14. "David Stephenson | 14 January - 12 February 2022 - Overview". Bett Gallery. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  15. Australian National Gallery (1988). Australian photography : the 1980s : an exhibition from the Australian National Gallery sponsored by Kodak. Helen Ennis. Canberra: Australian National Gallery. ISBN 0-642-08159-X. OCLC 28994069.
  16. "Australian Centre for Contemporary Art". acca.melbourne. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  17. Koop, Stuart (1994). "1994_David-Stephenson_The-Ice_catalogue.pdf" (PDF).
  18. Daniel Palmer; Martyn Jolly (2021). Installation view: Photography exhibitions in Australia (1848-2020). Melbourne, Australia. ISBN 978-1-922545-00-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  19. Tempus fugit, time flies. Jan Schall, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 2000. ISBN 0-942614-32-1. OCLC 44586493.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. "Starlight: David Stephenson Photographs | Ingalls Library and Museum Archives". library.clevelandart.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  21. "Symétries Sublimes. Photographies de David Stephenson". História das Exposições (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  22. Cross currents : focus on contemporary Australian art. John Stringer, Museum of Contemporary Art. The Rocks, N.S.W.: Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney. 2007. ISBN 978-1-921034-20-6. OCLC 225728404.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. In the balance : art for a changing world. Rachel Kent, Museum of Contemporary Art. Sydney, N.S.W.: Museum of Contemporary Art. 2010. ISBN 978-1-921034-45-9. OCLC 639355610.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. "Transcendence: photographs by David Stephenson". www.mga.org.au. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  25. Luminous world : contemporary art from the Wesfarmers collection. Fremantle, W.A.: Fremantle Press. 2012. ISBN 978-1-922089-09-0. OCLC 793131109.
  26. "Lost in Landscape". www.mart.tn.it. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  27. Annear, Judy (2015). The photograph and Australia. Geoffrey Batchen, Daniel Palmer, Michael Aird, Jane Lydon, Kathleen Davidson, Martyn Jolly. Sydney, N.S.W. ISBN 978-1-74174-116-2. OCLC 897460459.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  28. "David Stephenson :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  29. Netherl, Contact Address NoorderlichtHouse of Photography Akerkhof 12 9711 JB Groningen The. "IN VIVO | the nature of nature". old.noorderlicht.com. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  30. "Civilization: The Way We Live Now | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
  31. "David Stephenson – People – eMuseum". ackland.emuseum.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  32. "David Stephenson". AGSA - Online Collection. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  33. "collections.eastman.org/people/57520/david-stephenson". 2022-07-13.
  34. "Search Results: "david stephenson" - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  35. "metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=David+Stephenson". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  36. "Explore our collection". www.mga.org.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  37. "David Stephenson | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  38. "Works | David Stephenson | People | The MFAH Collections". emuseum.mfah.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  39. "David Stephenson. Navajo Irrigation Project, New Mexico. 1979 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  40. "Search the Collection". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  41. "Artists | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  42. "David Stephenson – Artists/Makers – The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art". art.nelson-atkins.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  43. "David Stephenson: The Photographic Sublime Collection CAE1304" (PDF).
  44. "QAGOMA Collection Online". collection.qagoma.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  45. "Grant - Grants Data Portal". dataportal.arc.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-07-13.

Further reading

Lynne Andrews: Antarctic eye : the visual journey, Mount Rumney, 2007. ISBN 9780646478395

Judy Annear: The Photograph and Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2015. ISBN 9781741741162

Jorge Calado: A Prova de Agua/Waterproof, Edition Stemmle, Zurich, 1998. ISBN 9789728495053

Jorge Calado: David Stephenson: Symetries Sublime/Sublime Symmetries, Centre Culturel Calouste Gulbenkian, Paris, 2006. ISBN 972-8462-44-1

Jorge Calado: Ingenuidades: Fotografia e Engenharia 1846-2006, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, 2006. ISBN 9789723111750

Peter Conrad: At home in Australia, National Gallery of Australia and Thames & Hudson, Canberra, 2003. ISBN 978-0500511411

Isobel Crombie: "Foreword" in David Stephenson: Heavenly Vaults: From Romanesque to Gothic in European Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2009. ISBN 978-1-56898-840-5

Keith F. Davis: An American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital, Hallmark, Kansas City, 1994. ISBN 9780810919648

Keith F. Davis: An American Century of Photography: From Dry Plate to Digital (2nd Edition, Revised and Enlarged), Abrams, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-8109-6378-7

Keith F. Davis: "Admiration and awe - David Stephenson and the photographic sublime", in David Stephenson: Visions of Heaven: The Dome in European Architecture, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 2005. ISBN 1-56898-549-5

Helen Ennis: Australian Photography: The 1980's, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, and Melbourne Oxford University Press, Oxford, Auckland, New York, 1988 ISBN 9780642081599

Helen Ennis: Photography and Australia, Reaktion, London, 2007. ISBN 9781861893239

Roslynn D. Haynes: Tasmanian Visions: Landscapes in Writing, Art, and Photography, Polymath Press, Tasmania, 2006. ISBN 097757380X

Isabel Hesketh: “David Stephenson”, in Rachel Kent: In the Balance: Art for a Changing World, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2010. ISBN 9781921034459

Melissa Miles: The Language of Light and Dark – Light and Place in Australian Photography, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal & Kingston and Power Publications, Sydney, 2015. ISBN 978-0-7735-4550-2

Daniel Palmer: “David Stephenson”, chapter in John Stringer: Cross Currents: Focus on Contemporary Australian Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, 2007. ISBN 9781921034206

Daniel Palmer: “David Stephenson”, chapter in Blair French and Daniel Palmer: Twelve Australian Photo-Artists, Piper Press, Sydney, 2009. ISBN 9780975190173

Jan Schall, editor: Tempus Fugit: Time Flies, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and University of Washington, Seattle, 2001. ISBN 9780942614329

David Stephenson: "Marks in the landscape: Notes 1979-1991", in Jerry de Gryse and Andrew Sant, ed: Our Common Ground, a celebration of art, place & environment, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and University of Tasmania, Hobart, 1994. ISBN 0 909947 05 8

Susan Van Wyk: Sublime Space: David Stephenson Photographs, 1989-98, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1998.

Susan Van Wyk: “David Stephenson - The Ice”, in Charles Green and Jason Smith: Fieldwork: Australian Art 1968-2002, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2002. ISBN 0 7241 0213 2

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