Arnaud Maggs
Encyclopedia
Biography
Arnaud Maggs is a Canadian artist and photographer. Born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, he lives in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. Maggs is best known for stark portraits arranged in grid-like arrangements.
After training and working as a graphic designer, Maggs turned to commercial photography in the 1960s. At the age of 47, he decided to become a visual artist concentrating on photography and conceptualism and focusing on such things as death notices and tags documenting child labour in French textile factories.
Works
Characteristic of Maggs' early work are his black-and-white portraits taken from the front, side and back, and presented in grid formation exemplified in the internationally acclaimed portraits of Joseph BeuysJoseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
, Joseph Beuys: 100 Frontal Views, Düsseldorf, 21.10.80 and Joseph Beuys: 100 Profile Views, Düsseldorf, 21.10.80. Created in Beuys' Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
home in 1980, the images appear to be identical, but are 200 different photographs of Beuys attempting to sit completely still. In 2006, Maggs was awarded the Governor General's Award
Governor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
in Visual and Media Arts.