Dennis Stock
Encyclopedia
Dennis Stock was an American
photojournalist
and documentary photographer
and a member of Magnum Photos
. He was born in New York City
and died in Sarasota, Florida
.
from 1947-1951. Following his discharge, he apprenticed under photographer Gjon Mili
. In 1951, he won a first prize in a Life
magazine competition for young photographers. That same year, he became an associate member of the photography agency Magnum
. He became a full partner-member in 1954.
In 1955, Stock met the actor James Dean
and undertook a series of photos of the young star in Hollywood, Dean's hometown in Indiana and in New York City. He took a photograph of Dean in New York's Times Square
in 1955 (the year Dean died) that became an iconic image of the young star. It appeared later in numerous galleries and on postcards and posters and was one of the most reproduced photographs of the post-war period. The black and white photograph shows the actor with a pulled up collar on a casual jacket and a cigarette in his mouth on a rain-soaked, gray day.
From 1957 until the early 1960s, Stock aimed his lens at jazz musicians, photographing such people as Louis Armstrong
, Billie Holliday, Sidney Bechet
, Gene Krupa
and Duke Ellington
. With this series of photographs he published the book Jazz Street. In 1962, he received the first prize at the International Photo Competition in Poland
. In 1968, Stock left Magnum to start his own film company, Visual Objectives Inc., and made several documentaries, but he returned to the agency a year later, as vice president for new media and film. In the mid-1970s, he traveled to Japan
and the Far East
, and also produced numerous features series, such as photographs of contrasting regions, like Hawaii
and Alaska
. In the 1970s and 1980s he focused on color photography of nature and landscape, and returned to his urban roots in the 1990s focusing on architecture and modernism.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photojournalist
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
and documentary photographer
Documentary photography
Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit...
and a member of Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
. He was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and died in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
.
Career
Stock served in the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1947-1951. Following his discharge, he apprenticed under photographer Gjon Mili
Gjon Mili
Gjon Mili was an Albanian-American photographer best known for his work published in Life.-Biography:Born to Vasil Mili and Viktori Cekani in Korçë, Albania, Mili came to the United States in 1923. In 1939, Mili landed a job as a freelance photographer for Life...
. In 1951, he won a first prize in a Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine competition for young photographers. That same year, he became an associate member of the photography agency Magnum
Magnum Photos
Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices located in New York, Paris, London and Tokyo...
. He became a full partner-member in 1954.
In 1955, Stock met the actor James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
and undertook a series of photos of the young star in Hollywood, Dean's hometown in Indiana and in New York City. He took a photograph of Dean in New York's Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in 1955 (the year Dean died) that became an iconic image of the young star. It appeared later in numerous galleries and on postcards and posters and was one of the most reproduced photographs of the post-war period. The black and white photograph shows the actor with a pulled up collar on a casual jacket and a cigarette in his mouth on a rain-soaked, gray day.
From 1957 until the early 1960s, Stock aimed his lens at jazz musicians, photographing such people as Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Billie Holliday, Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet
Sidney Bechet was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He was one of the first important soloists in jazz , and was perhaps the first notable jazz saxophonist...
, Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
and Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. With this series of photographs he published the book Jazz Street. In 1962, he received the first prize at the International Photo Competition in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 1968, Stock left Magnum to start his own film company, Visual Objectives Inc., and made several documentaries, but he returned to the agency a year later, as vice president for new media and film. In the mid-1970s, he traveled to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
, and also produced numerous features series, such as photographs of contrasting regions, like Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. In the 1970s and 1980s he focused on color photography of nature and landscape, and returned to his urban roots in the 1990s focusing on architecture and modernism.
Awards
- 1991, Advertising Photographers of America, USA
- 1962, 1st Prize, International Photography Competition, Poland.
- 1951, 1st Prize, "Life" Young Photographers Contest, USA
Publications
- Alaska, USA: Harry N. Abrams, 1978
- The Alternative: Communal Life in New America, UK: Collier-Macmillan, 1970
- America Seen, France: Contrejour, 1980, ISBN 978-2859490270
- Brother Sun, USA: Sierra Club BooksSierra Club BooksSierra Club Books is the publishing division of the Sierra Club, founded in 1960 by then Sierra Club President David Brower. Volumes intended for club members had been published prior to 1960. In addition, books under their name had been published before 1960, but done through already established...
, 1974 - California: the Golden Coast, with Philip L. Fradkin, USA: Viking Press/Studio Book, 1974, ISBN 978-0670199693
- California Trip, USA: Grossman Publishers, 1970, ISBN 978-0670199761
- The Circle of Seasons, with Josephine W. Johnson, USA: Viking Press, 1974, ISBN 978-0436496509
- Edge of Life: World of the Estuary, USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972
- Flower Show, USA: Rizzoli, 1986; Impressions, fleurs, France: Mengès, 1986
- A Haiku Journey, Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1974
- The Happy Year, USA: Channel Press, Inc., 1963
- Hawaii New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988, ISBN 978-0810910768; 1991, ISBN 978-0792447122
- I Grandi Fotografi : Dennis Stock, Italy: Gruppo Editoriale Fabbri, 1982
- James Dean: Fifty Years Ago New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2005, ISBN 0810959038; France: La Martinière, 2005.
- James Dean Revisited, USA: Viking Press/Penguin Books, 1978, ISBN 978-0140049398; USA: Shirmer & Mosel/Chronicle Books, 1987, ISBN 978-0877014713
- Jazz Street, USA: Doubleday, 1960
- Jazz Welt, Germany: Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1959
- Living Our Future : Francis of Assisi, USA: Franciscan Herald, 1972
- Made in the U.S.A., Germany/USA: Cantz, 1995, ISBN 978-3893226399
- National Parks Centennial Portfolio, USA: Sierra Club Books, 1972, ISBN 978-0871560582
- New England Memories, USA: Bulfinch Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0821217498
- Plaisir du Jazz, France: La Guilde du Livre, 1959
- Portrait of a Young Man, James Dean, USA: Kadokawa Shoten, 1956
- Provence Memories, USA: New York Graphic Society, ISBN 0821217151; Bullfinch Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0821217153; Provence, France: Le Chêne, 1988
- Saint Francis of Assisi, with Lawrence Cunningham, USA: Harper & Row, 1981, ISBN 978-0584970807; Franziskus: Der Mann aus Assisi, Switzerland: Reich Verlag, 1981
- This Land of Europe, Japan/USA: Kodansha International, 1976, ISBN 978-0870112768
- Voyage Poétique à Travers le Japon d'Autrefois, Switzerland: Office du Livre, 1976
