Thomas Joshua Cooper
Encyclopedia
Thomas Joshua Cooper is an American photographer of Cherokee
descent. He is considered amongst the premier contemporary landscape photographers.
Cooper received his bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University
in Arcata, California
in 1969. In 1972, he received his master’s
in photography from the University of New Mexico
.
Cooper was inspired by the works of the photographers of the f/64 group
of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Ansel Adams
. Cooper states, "I'll live and die by the late works of Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz and Paul Strand, and I think Robert Frank is the most extraordinary living photographic picture-maker."
Cooper loves being a photographer, but is frustrated by some of the vocabulary that is used in the field. He indicates, "I hate the words "snap", "shoot" and "take" when it comes to making photographs. Everything I do is very seriously built up. They are 'made' pictures."
Not only a photographer, Cooper is a poet and has written a few Haiku books. Most of them are inspired by nature and really reflect his camera work, e.g. About water, trees, the world and sometimes even animals.
Cooper travels all over the world, discovering and exploring places people only dream of going. He has discovered recently named 3 places on the map- Catherine Rock, LISA Island and Landout point. these places will be marked in 2009s new maps.
He currently resides in Glasgow
, Scotland, where he founded the Fine Art Photography Department at the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art
in 1982. He is now a senior researcher in the faculty of Fine Art, holding a Professorial role and Head of Department. He is married to Catherine Alice Mooney and together they have two daughters, Laura Indigo Cooper and Sophie Alice Cooper.
In 2009 Cooper achieved a Guggenheim Fellowship
in Photography.
He is represented by The Pace Gallery
, New York.
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
descent. He is considered amongst the premier contemporary landscape photographers.
Cooper received his bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
in Arcata, California
Arcata, California
-Demographics:-2010 Census data:The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcata had a population of 17,231. The population density was 1,567.4 people per square mile...
in 1969. In 1972, he received his master’s
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in photography from the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
.
Cooper was inspired by the works of the photographers of the f/64 group
Group f/64
Group f/64 was a group of seven 20th century San Francisco photographers who shared a common photographic style characterized by sharp-focused and carefully framed images seen through a particularly Western viewpoint...
of the 1930s and 1940s, such as Ansel Adams
Ansel Adams
Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....
. Cooper states, "I'll live and die by the late works of Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz and Paul Strand, and I think Robert Frank is the most extraordinary living photographic picture-maker."
Cooper loves being a photographer, but is frustrated by some of the vocabulary that is used in the field. He indicates, "I hate the words "snap", "shoot" and "take" when it comes to making photographs. Everything I do is very seriously built up. They are 'made' pictures."
Not only a photographer, Cooper is a poet and has written a few Haiku books. Most of them are inspired by nature and really reflect his camera work, e.g. About water, trees, the world and sometimes even animals.
Cooper travels all over the world, discovering and exploring places people only dream of going. He has discovered recently named 3 places on the map- Catherine Rock, LISA Island and Landout point. these places will be marked in 2009s new maps.
He currently resides in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland, where he founded the Fine Art Photography Department at the world-renowned Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
in 1982. He is now a senior researcher in the faculty of Fine Art, holding a Professorial role and Head of Department. He is married to Catherine Alice Mooney and together they have two daughters, Laura Indigo Cooper and Sophie Alice Cooper.
In 2009 Cooper achieved a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in Photography.
He is represented by The Pace Gallery
Pace Gallery
The Pace Gallery is a New York City-based exhibition space. It was founded in 1960 in Boston by Arne Glimcher.-PaceWildenstein:From 1993 until April 1, 2010, the gallery became "PaceWildenstein," a joint business venture between the Pace Gallery and Wildenstein & Co....
, New York.
Awards
- 1970, John D. Phelen Award in Art and Literature .
- 1994, Major Artists Award, Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1999, Major Artist’s Award, Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Museums
Cooper’s works are held by over fifty museums and public collections, among them:- Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, Chicago, Illinois - Denver Art MuseumDenver Art MuseumThe Denver Art Museum is an art museum in Denver, Colorado located in Denver's Civic Center.It is known for its collection of American Indian art,and has a comprehensive collection numbering more than 68,000 works from across the world....
, Denver Colorado - The J. Paul Getty MuseumJ. Paul Getty MuseumThe J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
, Los Angeles, California - Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), Houston, Texas
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)Los Angeles County Museum of ArtThe Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, Los Angeles, California - Carré d'Art (Nîmes Museum of Contemporary Art)Carré d'ArtThe Carré d'art at Nîmes in southern France houses a museum of contemporary art and the city's library. Constructed of glass, concrete and steel, it faces the Maison Carrée, a perfectly preserved Roman temple that dates from the 1st century BC. In 1984, twelve architects, including Frank Gehry,...
, Nîmes, France - Princeton University Art MuseumPrinceton University Art MuseumThe Princeton University Art Museum is Princeton University's gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1882, it now houses over 72,000 works of art that range from antiquity to the contemporary period...
, Princeton, New Jersey - The Tate GalleryTate BritainTate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, London, England - The Victoria and Albert MuseumVictoria and Albert MuseumThe Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, London, England
Further reading
- Cotter, Holland (28 June 1996) "Art in Review; Thomas Joshua Cooper" The New York Times
- Cullen, Fintan and Morrison, John (editors) (2005) "A Shared Legacy: Essays on Irish and Scottish Art and Visual Culture Ashgate, Aldershot, Hants, England, ISBN 0-7546-0644-9
- Yau, John (2006) Ojo de agua - Thomas Joshua Cooper(Exhibition Ojo de Agua - Eye of the Water, at Pace Wildenstein, 1 December 2006 - 13 January 2007) Pace Wildenstein Publications, New York, ISBN 1-930743-63-7