50 Artists Project

Meeting artists for the first time. By Margot Bason

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Black and white film prints by Margot Bason

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Kevin Cummins

Kevin Cummins use of contrasts should go down in history books. Both of the photos above are so different in movement and composition, but they are so united in the contrast. You can see the world, but the world doesn't matter like the centerpiece does. Cummins makes stars truly shine.

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Angela Bason-Kidwell

A beautiful surrealist photographer, Bacon-Kidwell invites us into childhood-like-memory-dreams. This photo makes me feel like I'm flying like Peter Pan. I feel like the sky and the birds.

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Tiffany Chung

Known for her work surrounding sociopolitical issues, Tiffany Chung captures your eye with color and texture. Her work is thrilling to look at, and personally leaves me reading her narrative.

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Nobuyoshi Araki

As a major force in Japanese photography, Araki's work has ignited a lot of controversy. His work is powerful and opinionated. He tells you exactly what he wants to say. This photo, arguably an outlier, is one of my favorites of his though. It has his force, but it is less direct about it.

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Margot Miller

A SCAD alum and a fellow Margot! Miller's work feels like a warm sunset on the lake in the summer time. It has the pease of the currents and the wind that brings it to life. It's peaceful and bright.

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Andreas Gursky

What a master of angles. I see patterns in the chaos of the crowd photos and I see dynamics in the patterns of the runway shot.

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Farrah Skeiky

I am in love with Arab American photographer Farrah Skeiky's photos. The absolute energy and movement puts me in a trance. The photo of Turnstile (left) is now one of my favorite photos. I always try to get my crowd shots to look like paintings, and this one looks like The Garden of Earthly Delights. Every face, arm, anything is so distinct, yet it all flows together so seamlessly. What a gem to discover on this quest.

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Jim Marshall

(1936-2010)

The official photographer of Woodstock. The only photographer awarded the Trustee Award from the Recording Academy. The only thing that speaks for Jim Marshall more than these accomplishments are the photos themselves. The energy he captures is so encapsulating. It's as if he has a 6th sense to detect the perfect moment to hit the shutter.

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Claude Cahun

(1894-1954)

What a gorgeous portrait. It asks questions and lets us find our own answers within it. Reading about Claude Cahun's life was beautiful, but seeing it through their work is indescribable.

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Kevin Salk

"... a photographer who was at the right place at the right time in the early 1980's punk rock scene."

That's the top line of Salk's website biography. Maybe show photography is mostly being at the right place in the right time, but if that's true, he has a gift for it. Seeing the moments he captures with such ferocity and vigor is a gift for anyone who comes across his work.

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Dora Maar

(1907-1997)

A surrealist at heart, Maar worked very closely with other artists of the movement such as Picasso. She knew many accomplished artists, and it makes me sad that I didn't know about her sooner. Her work is misty yet clear and dreamy but right in reach of you.

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David Godlis

I could eat these photos. The grain is so delicious and the glow of the lights is addicting. I want to jump through the film negatives and live in these moments forever. What a dream to capture.

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Roberta Bayley

Bayley lived my dream of photographing the early punk scene in the late 70's to 80's. She worked the door at the legendary CBGBs and soon began shooting the bands that graced the stage. To live and love in that height of the culture would've been a dream, but I'm happy to get to experience it through her lens.

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Bob Gruen

If there is an icon, Bob Gruen has photographed them. It was amazing looking through his photo archive. I love photos from behind the scenes moments in live music, for it shows the people behind the performance. I love that photo of Patti Smith though, she looks so powerful, like she's the only one in the world when there is actually a sea of people behind her.

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Anne Brigman

(1869-1950)

Brigman's work is truly ethereal. A beautiful blend of nature and the female nude, her photographs transcend time and place. I love how the women are usually cloaked in shadow, it gives them a mysterious aura, like they're just floating out of the landscape.

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Toni Frissell

(1907-1988)

After becoming a fashion photographer for Vogue, Frissell became the official photographer for the American Red Cross and the Women's Army Corps during World War II. After the war, she went back to fashion photography until realizing photojournalism was her true calling.