JOEL-PETER WITKIN
began making photographs at the age of sixteen with a
twin lens camera. In the Army from 1961-64 he photographed
accidents, maneuvers, and suicides. Returning to New York
to work as an assistant, he received his BFA in sculpture
from Cooper Union.
While pursuing graduate work at the University of New
Mexico he developed intensive darkroom and finishing techniques
in a relationship to the history of painting and sculpture.
With his unique vision Witkin fashions works that “confront
our sense of normalcy and decency, while constantly examining
the teachings handed down through Christianity.”
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Among his awards are two Ford Foundation and four N.E.A
grants, the ICP Award for Visual Arts, and the Commander
de L’Order des Artes et des Lettres. His work is
collected globally, including the Bibliothèque
Nationale in Paris, the Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum,
the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, the Victoria
and Albert Museum in London, and the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York, NY.
Images courtesy Catherine Edelman Gallery,
Chicago
Joel-Peter Witkin knows that,
contrary to popular wisdom, we are not rational
creatures, but subject to our senses. He uses
sight, our most privileged sense, to unnerve and
instruct us. Witkin’s images do not merely
shock, they enlighten, if only by forcing us to
embrace what we’d rather leave unexamined.
-- Catherine Edelman Gallery
"History shows
that only the artists who worked outside the parameters
of established art, have, and will always make
contributions to history.” — Joel-Peter
Witkin
