Dona Ann McAdams
Encyclopedia
Dona Ann McAdams is an American
photographer.
Dona Ann McAdams’ work has been exhibited widely, nationally and internationally, at places such as the Museum of Modern Art
, NYC; The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; The International Center of Photography
; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
, Robert Miller Gallery and La Primavera Fotographica, Barcelona. Her photos are in the collections of, among other places, the Museum of Modern Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Print Club, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
She has been recognized for her talents by grants from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts
, the Polaroid Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts
. In 2002 she received the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University
.
Her work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times
, The Washington Post
, The Times
of London, Art Forum, Doubletake, and Aperture. Her monograph of performance work, Caught in the Act, was published by Aperture in 1996. Her other book, The Woodcutter's Christmas, a collaboration with Brad Kessler
was published in 2001 by Council Oak Books. The Garden of Eden, about people living with schizophrenia, was published by the Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery at Syracuse University
in 1997. Some Women, the catalogue for a 35 year survey of her work, was published by the Opalka Gallery of The Sage Colleges
in 2009.
While principally known for her performance photography, for which she's received both Obie and Bessie Awards, the majority of her work lies in a number of personal portfolios, documentary in nature, which range widely and include eclectic subjects such as: thoroughbred horse racing, Appalachia farmers, a community of schizophrenics living on Coney Island
. Some of her most memorable images are photographs from the street, where she uses the same techniques she does in live performance to create a kind of performance of everyday life. Her work has been compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson
, Dorothea Lange
, and Tina Modotti
.
She has collaborated with and is married to Brad Kessler
, American author of Lick Creek, Birds in Fall, and Goat Song. McAdams resides in NYC and Vermont.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer.
Dona Ann McAdams’ work has been exhibited widely, nationally and internationally, at places such as the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, NYC; The Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC; The International Center of Photography
International Center of Photography
The International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, Robert Miller Gallery and La Primavera Fotographica, Barcelona. Her photos are in the collections of, among other places, the Museum of Modern Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Print Club, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
She has been recognized for her talents by grants from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the Polaroid Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
. In 2002 she received the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
Her work has appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London, Art Forum, Doubletake, and Aperture. Her monograph of performance work, Caught in the Act, was published by Aperture in 1996. Her other book, The Woodcutter's Christmas, a collaboration with Brad Kessler
Brad Kessler
Brad Kessler is an American novelist. His most recent work is 2009's Goat Song.Brad Kessler is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Birds in Fall which won the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Part of Birds in Fall was previously published in the Spring 2006 The Kenyon Review. and was...
was published in 2001 by Council Oak Books. The Garden of Eden, about people living with schizophrenia, was published by the Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1997. Some Women, the catalogue for a 35 year survey of her work, was published by the Opalka Gallery of The Sage Colleges
The Sage Colleges
The Sage Colleges is a private educational institution comprising three colleges in New York:Russell Sage College, a women's college in Troy, New York, Sage College of Albany, a co-educational college in Albany, New York, and the Sage Graduate School, which operates both in Troy and in...
in 2009.
While principally known for her performance photography, for which she's received both Obie and Bessie Awards, the majority of her work lies in a number of personal portfolios, documentary in nature, which range widely and include eclectic subjects such as: thoroughbred horse racing, Appalachia farmers, a community of schizophrenics living on Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
. Some of her most memorable images are photographs from the street, where she uses the same techniques she does in live performance to create a kind of performance of everyday life. Her work has been compared to Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography...
, Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange was an influential American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration...
, and Tina Modotti
Tina Modotti
Tina Modotti was an Italian photographer, model, actress, and revolutionary political activist.- Early life :Modotti was born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini in Udine, Friuli, Italy...
.
She has collaborated with and is married to Brad Kessler
Brad Kessler
Brad Kessler is an American novelist. His most recent work is 2009's Goat Song.Brad Kessler is the author of the critically acclaimed novel Birds in Fall which won the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Part of Birds in Fall was previously published in the Spring 2006 The Kenyon Review. and was...
, American author of Lick Creek, Birds in Fall, and Goat Song. McAdams resides in NYC and Vermont.
Books
- Caught in the Act (Aperture 1996)
- The Woodcutter's Christmas (Council Oak Books 2001)
Exhibition Catalogues
- The Garden of Eden (Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery 1997)
- Some Women (Opalka Gallery 2009)