Peter Turnley
Encyclopedia
Peter Turnley is a photojournalist known for documenting the human condition and current events. Over the past two decades, he has traveled to eighty-five countries and covered nearly every major news event of international significance. His photographs have been featured on the cover of Newsweek
more than forty times. A renowned street photographer who's lived in and photographed Paris
since 1978, Turnley is one of the preeminent photographers of the daily life in Paris of his generation.
Turnley and his twin brother, the photographer David C. Turnley
, were the subjects of a biographical 60 Minutes
piece Double Exposure, which aired during their exhibition, "In Times of War and Peace" at New York’s International Center of Photography
in 1996.
, the Sorbonne of Paris, and the Institut d'études politiques
of Paris, one of the few American students ever to do so. He has received honorary doctorates from the New School of Social Research in New York and University of St Francis
(Indiana). Harvard University
awarded him a Nieman Fellowship
for 2000–2001.
. In 1975, the Office of Economic Opportunity
of the State of California hired Peter Turnley to produce a photographic documentary on poverty in California.
After an initial sojourn of eight months in Paris in 1975-76, Peter Turnley moved to Paris
in 1978. He began working as a printer at the photography lab, Picto, that printed Henri Cartier-Bresson
s’ photographs. At the same time, he began photographing street scenes in Paris, which resulted in the book Parisians, published in 2001. He began working as the assistant to the photographer Robert Doisneau
in 1981 and with Doisneau's introduction to Raymond Grosset, the director of the Rapho
photo agency, Turnley became a member of Rapho, working alongside many of the photographers of the French school of humanistic photography such as Édouard Boubat
, Robert Doisneau
, Janine Niépce
, Willy Ronis
, Hans Sylvester, and Sabine Weiss. 'He became associated with the photo agency Black Star
and was mentored by its director Howard Chapnick. As Paris-based contract photographer for Newsweek
from 1984 to 2001, Turnley's photographs graced the cover of Newsweek 43 times. In 2003, he began producing eight page quarterly photo essays for Harper's Magazine
.
Turnley has photographed world conflicts including the Gulf War
, the Bosnia
, Somalia
, Rwanda
, South Africa, Chechnya
, Haiti
, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, Afghanistan
, Kosovo
, and Iraq
(2003). During the end of Cold War (1985–1991) Turnley photographed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
more than any other Western journalist. He witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the revolutions in Eastern Europe
in 1989, and Nelson Mandela
walk out of prison after 27 years incarceration , and the ensuing end of apartheid in South Africa
. Turnley was also present in New York
at “Ground Zero” on Sept 11, 2001, and in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
. He photographed the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama
and produced a multimedia piece on this occasion for CNN
.
Turnley currently lives in New York and Paris, and is represented by Corbis
, which holds an archive of more than 25,000 of Turnley's images.
for his class “The Literature of Social Reflection” at Harvard, and he is a frequent lecturer and teacher at universities and on panels worldwide, including the Danish National School of Journalism, Parsons School of Design, Paris, the University of Hanover, Germany, The University of Michigan, The University of Iowa, and Indiana University
. He was an “artist in residence” at the Residential College of the University of Michigan during the spring semester of 2008.
Turnley teaches street photography workshops around the world. In conjunction with the Maine Media Workshops
, he teaches workshops on street photography and the photo-essay in Paris
, Istanbul
, Prague
/Budapest
, Seville
, Rio de Janeiro
, Calcutta, Provence
, and Buenos Aires
. He also runs and teaches workshops on street photography in New York City.
Award for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, and numerous awards and citations from World Press Photo
and Pictures of the Year
competition of the University of Missouri.
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
more than forty times. A renowned street photographer who's lived in and photographed Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
since 1978, Turnley is one of the preeminent photographers of the daily life in Paris of his generation.
Turnley and his twin brother, the photographer David C. Turnley
David C. Turnley
David C. Turnley is an American photographer. He won the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for photography for images of the political uprisings in China and Eastern Europe, the World Press Photo Picture of the Year in 1988 for a photo taken in Leninakan after the devastating Armenian earthquake and again in...
, were the subjects of a biographical 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
piece Double Exposure, which aired during their exhibition, "In Times of War and Peace" at New York’s 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...
in 1996.
Education
Peter Turnley is a graduate of the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, the Sorbonne of Paris, and the Institut d'études politiques
Institut d'études politiques
Instituts d'études politiques , or IEPs, are nine publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse , and their vocation is the study and research of contemporary political science...
of Paris, one of the few American students ever to do so. He has received honorary doctorates from the New School of Social Research in New York and University of St Francis
University of Saint Francis (Indiana)
The University of Saint Francis is a liberal arts university located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, the university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values...
(Indiana). Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
awarded him a Nieman Fellowship
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
for 2000–2001.
Photography
Turnley first began photographing in 1972 in his home town of Ft. Wayne, Indiana. With his twin brother David, he spent a year photographing the life of the inner-city, working-class McClellan Street. This work was published in 2008 by Indiana University PressIndiana University Press
Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. It was founded in 1950. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana....
. In 1975, the Office of Economic Opportunity
Office of Economic Opportunity
The Office of Economic Opportunity was the agency responsible for administering most of the War on Poverty programs created as part of United States President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society legislative agenda.- History :...
of the State of California hired Peter Turnley to produce a photographic documentary on poverty in California.
After an initial sojourn of eight months in Paris in 1975-76, Peter Turnley moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1978. He began working as a printer at the photography lab, Picto, that printed 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...
s’ photographs. At the same time, he began photographing street scenes in Paris, which resulted in the book Parisians, published in 2001. He began working as the assistant to the photographer Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau was a French photographer. In the 1930s he used a Leica on the streets of Paris; together with Henri Cartier-Bresson he was a pioneer of photojournalism...
in 1981 and with Doisneau's introduction to Raymond Grosset, the director of the Rapho
Rapho
Rapho may refer to:* Rapho , a French photo agency*Rapho Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania...
photo agency, Turnley became a member of Rapho, working alongside many of the photographers of the French school of humanistic photography such as Édouard Boubat
Edouard Boubat
Edouard Boubat was a French art photographer.-Life and work:Boubat was born in Montmartre, Paris. He studied typography and graphic arts at the Ecole Estienne, and then worked for a printing company before becoming a photographer after WWII. He took his first photograph in 1946 and was awarded the...
, Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau
Robert Doisneau was a French photographer. In the 1930s he used a Leica on the streets of Paris; together with Henri Cartier-Bresson he was a pioneer of photojournalism...
, Janine Niépce
Janine Niépce
Janine Niépce was a French photographer. A cousin of Nicéphore Niépce, the pioneer of photography, she was born into a family of winemakers in Burgundy....
, Willy Ronis
Willy Ronis
Willy Ronis was a French photographer, the best-known of whose work shows life in post-war Paris and Provence.-Early life:...
, Hans Sylvester, and Sabine Weiss. 'He became associated with the photo agency Black Star
Black Star (photo agency)
Black Star is a New York City-based photographic agency that offers photojournalism, corporate assignment photography and stock photography services worldwide....
and was mentored by its director Howard Chapnick. As Paris-based contract photographer for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
from 1984 to 2001, Turnley's photographs graced the cover of Newsweek 43 times. In 2003, he began producing eight page quarterly photo essays for Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
.
Turnley has photographed world conflicts including the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, the Bosnia
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
, Somalia
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
, Rwanda
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
, South Africa, Chechnya
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
, Haiti
Operation Uphold Democracy
Operation Uphold Democracy was an intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d'état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide...
, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Kosovo
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
(2003). During the end of Cold War (1985–1991) Turnley photographed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
more than any other Western journalist. He witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the revolutions in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
in 1989, and Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
walk out of prison after 27 years incarceration , and the ensuing end of apartheid in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Turnley was also present in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at “Ground Zero” on Sept 11, 2001, and in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He photographed the election and inauguration of President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and produced a multimedia piece on this occasion for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
Turnley currently lives in New York and Paris, and is represented by Corbis
Corbis
Corbis Corporation is an American company, based in Seattle, Washington, that licenses the rights to photographs, footage and other visual media...
, which holds an archive of more than 25,000 of Turnley's images.
Teaching and Workshops
During the fall of 2001 he was a Teaching Fellow for Professor Robert ColesRobert Coles
Martin Robert Coles is an American author, child psychiatrist, and professor at Harvard University.-Life and career:...
for his class “The Literature of Social Reflection” at Harvard, and he is a frequent lecturer and teacher at universities and on panels worldwide, including the Danish National School of Journalism, Parsons School of Design, Paris, the University of Hanover, Germany, The University of Michigan, The University of Iowa, and Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. He was an “artist in residence” at the Residential College of the University of Michigan during the spring semester of 2008.
Turnley teaches street photography workshops around the world. In conjunction with the Maine Media Workshops
Maine Media Workshops
The Maine Media Workshops is an international non-profit educational organization offering year-round workshops for photographers, filmmakers, and media artists...
, he teaches workshops on street photography and the photo-essay in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
/Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Calcutta, Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. He also runs and teaches workshops on street photography in New York City.
Exhibitions
- The International Center for Photography (CP), New York, New York.
- Leica Gallery, New York, New York.
- Museum of Modern Art, Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
- Agathe Gaillard Gallery, Paris, France.
- Pictura Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana.
- Museum of Modern Art, Verona, Italy.
- "The Content of Our Character." Weatherhead Gallery, University of St FrancisUniversity of Saint Francis (Indiana)The University of Saint Francis is a liberal arts university located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, the university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values...
, Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, 2009.
Awards
Peter Turnley's photographs have won many international awards including the Overseas Press ClubOverseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
Award for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, and numerous awards and citations from World Press Photo
World Press Photo
World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955 the organization is known for holding the world's largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest....
and Pictures of the Year
Pictures of the Year
is the oldest and most prestigious photojournalism program in the world. POYi began as an annual competition for photojournalism in 1944, and is now an international professional development program for visual journalism. POYi is a non-profit, academic program dedicated to journalism education...
competition of the University of Missouri.