Mark Cohen (photographer)

Mark Cohen (b.1943) is an American photographer best known for his innovative street photography.

Life and career

Cohen was born and lives in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University and Wilkes College between 1961 and 1965, and opened a commercial photo studio in 1966.^[1] Cohen’s photography was first exhibited in the 1969 exhibition Vision and Expression organised by Nathan Lyons at George Eastman House.^[2][3] He has twice been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship^[4] and received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1975.^[5] A monograph of black and white photographs, Grim Street, was published in 2005 by powerHouse Books. A second book, True Color, followed in 2007.

The majority of the work for which Cohen is known is shot in the neighbourhoods of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Characteristically he shoots his subjects close in, often using a wide-angle lens and flash, frequently cropping the subjects' heads from the frame, concentrating on small details and moments.^[6]

Cohen has described his method as 'intrusive'.^[7] "They're not easy pictures. But I guess that's why they're mine."^[8]

Discussing his influences with Thomas Southall in 2004^[7] he cites ". . . so many photographers who followed Cartier-Bresson, like Frank, Koudelka, Winogrand, Friedlander." He also recognises the influence of Diane Arbus.^[8] Whilst acknowledging these influences he says: "I knew about art photography...Then I did these outside the context of any other photographer."^[8]

Books by Cohen

• Mark Cohen, Photographer: A Monograph. 1980. 38 pp. OCLC 14157788.^[9]
• Mark Cohen: October 10 – December 13, 1981. Washington, DC: Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1981. 24 pp. OCLC 8793002.
• Images: A Photographic Essay of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Avoca, PA: Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, 1982. 58 pp. OCLC 40750751.
• Five Minutes in Mexico: Photographs. [Wilkes-Barre, PA]: The [Sordoni Art] Gallery, 1989. ISBN 094294500X. 71 pp.
• Grim Street. New York: powerHouse, 2005. ISBN 1-57687-230-0.
• True Color. New York: powerHouse, 2007. ISBN 1-57687-372-2.

Selected exhibitions

• 'Photographs by Mark Cohen' Museum of Modern Art [MoMA Exh. #1027, March 19-July 8, 1973]^[10]

• 'Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence' Philadelphia Museum of Art ^[11]

Permanent collections

• Whitney Museum of American Art^[12]

• Metropolitan Museum of Art^[13]

• George Eastman House^[14]

Notes

1. ^ "Mark Cohen". Brucesilverstein.com. http://www.brucesilverstein.com/documents/43989ee3d8563.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
2. ^ Nathan Lyons, Vision and Expression (New York: Horizon Press, 1969).
3. ^ George Eastman House bio.
4. ^ "Mark Cohen", John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
5. ^ NEA 1975 Annual report (PDF), page 97.
6. ^ "Photography: Mark Cohen", Profiles in Excellence. Penn State Public Broadcasting, 1982. Here [1] at Penn State on Demand. (Starts at 1′43″.)
7. ^ ^{a b} 2004 interview with Thomas Southall, in Grim Street.
8. ^ ^{a b c} 2004 interview with Anne Wilkes Tucker, in the preface to Grim Street.
9. ^ According to WorldCat, "Also published as Camera, 1980, no. 3."
10. ^ "Exhibition History List". MoMA. http://www.moma.org/learn/resources/archives/archives_exhibition_history_list. Retrieved 2010-06-26. 
11. ^ "Mark Cohen: Strange Evidence". Philadelphia Museum of Art. http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/410.html. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 
12. ^ Four unspecified items, according to the alphabetical listing of artists. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
13. ^ Two items, according to the alphabetical listing of artists, including Girl with Skipping Rope, the cover image of Grim Street. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
14. ^ 129 items, detailed in the checklist of artists. Retrieved 2010-05-30.

External links

• Comprehensive list of Cohen's exhibitions (PDF)

Persondata
Name	Cohen, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1943
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death