John C. Goss
Encyclopedia
John C. Goss is an American
artist
and author
and has lived most of his life in the Asia/Pacific region (Hawaii
, Los Angeles
, Bangkok
).
He received his MFA from California Institute of the Arts
in 1984 and his BFA summa cum laude from Northern Illinois University
in 1981. He also studied at the University of California, San Diego
from 1981-1982. In 1989 he received a National Endowment for the Arts
fellowship and was nominated for the Herb Alpert
Award in the Arts in 1998.
His video and photographic works have been exhibited around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art
, the American Film Institute
, Hirschorn Museum, the Berlin Film Festival, Pacific Film Archive, Walker Arts Center, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
, Hong Kong Arts Centre, International Center of Photography
, The National Gallery of Canada, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Institut d'Estudis Nord-Americans Barcelona, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Harvard and Yale
universities. Reviews of his work have appeared in October, Camera Obscura, Jump Cut, Artweek, Afterimage, and the New Art Examiner.
As a designer he has created concert tour effects for Neil Diamond
, George Michael
, Deep Purple
and Rush
; theme park effects for Disney World and Disneyland; large-scale multi-media features for Caesars Palace
and Luxor Hotel
in Las Vegas
; and special effects for international Expo pavilions (1986, 1988 and 1993).
In 1994, Goss and partners opened Southeast Asia's first gay and lesbian center, Utopia, in Bangkok. In 1995 he created the online Utopia, the Internet's first Asian gay and lesbian resource portal.
His photographs appeared in the landmark pop cultural book, Very Thai (2005, River Books); and he has authored ten guidebook titles about the Asian region (2005–2007).
In the summer of 2007 he worked in Hollywood as Production Designer, Art Director, and Director of Concept Design for the motion picture Red Velvet.
In 2010, Goss and longtime partner, Amarin Ratanrat, moved to Palm Springs and opened Swank Modern Design. Swank Modern's inaugural exhibition, The Sensual World, featured photographs by Goss shot in Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and has lived most of his life in the Asia/Pacific region (Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
).
He received his MFA from California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
in 1984 and his BFA summa cum laude from Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
in 1981. He also studied at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
from 1981-1982. In 1989 he received a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
fellowship and was nominated for the Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
Award in the Arts in 1998.
His video and photographic works have been exhibited around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
, the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
, Hirschorn Museum, the Berlin Film Festival, Pacific Film Archive, Walker Arts Center, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, Hong Kong Arts Centre, 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...
, The National Gallery of Canada, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Institut d'Estudis Nord-Americans Barcelona, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Harvard and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
universities. Reviews of his work have appeared in October, Camera Obscura, Jump Cut, Artweek, Afterimage, and the New Art Examiner.
As a designer he has created concert tour effects for Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
and Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
; theme park effects for Disney World and Disneyland; large-scale multi-media features for Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
and Luxor Hotel
Luxor Hotel
Luxor Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The 30-story hotel, which is operated by MGM Resorts International, features a casino floor that includes over 2,000 slot machines and 87 table games....
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
; and special effects for international Expo pavilions (1986, 1988 and 1993).
In 1994, Goss and partners opened Southeast Asia's first gay and lesbian center, Utopia, in Bangkok. In 1995 he created the online Utopia, the Internet's first Asian gay and lesbian resource portal.
His photographs appeared in the landmark pop cultural book, Very Thai (2005, River Books); and he has authored ten guidebook titles about the Asian region (2005–2007).
In the summer of 2007 he worked in Hollywood as Production Designer, Art Director, and Director of Concept Design for the motion picture Red Velvet.
In 2010, Goss and longtime partner, Amarin Ratanrat, moved to Palm Springs and opened Swank Modern Design. Swank Modern's inaugural exhibition, The Sensual World, featured photographs by Goss shot in Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.