John Gossage
Encyclopedia
John Gossage is an American
photographer
, noted for his artist's books and other publications using his photographs to explore under-recognised elements of the urban environment such as abandoned tracts of land, debris and garbage, and graffiti, and themes of surveillance, memory and the relationship between architecture and power.
Gossage was born in Staten Island
, New York City
in 1946 and at an early age became interested in photography, leaving school at 16 and taking private instruction from Lisette Model
, Alexey Brodovich and Bruce Davidson
. He later moved to Washington, D.C.
to study, and subsequently received a grant from the Washington Gallery of Modern Art
which allowed him to remain in the city and refine his photographic technique. He has shown his photographs in solo and group exhibitions since 1963 and his work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art
in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art
in Washington D.C., the Sprengel Museum
in Hanover
, Germany
, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture
in Montreal
.
His publications include Berlin in the Time of the Wall (2004), which draws from some 10,000 images taken during more than twenty years of study of the city, The Romance Industry (2002), Empire (2000), There and Gone (1997), The Things That Animals Care About (1988), Stadt des Schwarz, LAMF: Three Days in Berlin 1987 (1987), and Hey Fuckface! (1984), a study of some of the Environmental Protection Agency
-listed hazardous waste sites in and near Staten Island and Syracuse, New York
. Several of these books are published in unusual formats, such as a wooden box with sliding Plexiglas panel, or with a newspaper clipping dustcover. Gossage collaborated with then-wife Terri Weifenbach on the photographic book Snake Eyes (2002). After a number of years with Nazraeli Press his usual publisher is now Loosestrife Editions and Steidl Verlag.
He has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park
and curated several photographic exhibitions. He lives and works in Washington, D.C.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, noted for his artist's books and other publications using his photographs to explore under-recognised elements of the urban environment such as abandoned tracts of land, debris and garbage, and graffiti, and themes of surveillance, memory and the relationship between architecture and power.
Gossage was born in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1946 and at an early age became interested in photography, leaving school at 16 and taking private instruction from Lisette Model
Lisette Model
Lisette Model was an Austrian-born American photographer.Lisette Model was born Elise Felic Amelie Stern in Vienna, Austria...
, Alexey Brodovich and Bruce Davidson
Bruce Davidson (photographer)
Bruce Davidson is an American photographer. He has been a member of Magnum agency since 1958. His photographs, notably those taken in Harlem, New York City, have been widely exhibited and published in a number of books.-Youth:Bruce Davidson was born to a single mother, who worked in a factory...
. He later moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to study, and subsequently received a grant from the Washington Gallery of Modern Art
Washington Gallery of Modern Art
The Washington Gallery of Modern Art was a short-lived gallery promoting contemporary art near Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, USA, during the 1960s. Its collection of 153 works was purchased by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1968 for $110,000...
which allowed him to remain in the city and refine his photographic technique. He has shown his photographs in solo and group exhibitions since 1963 and his work is held in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York, the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
in Washington D.C., the Sprengel Museum
Sprengel Museum
The Sprengel Museum in Hanover houses one of the most significant collections of modern art in Germany. It is located in a building designed by Peter and Ursula Trint and Dieter Quast , adjacent to the Maschsee...
in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture
Canadian Centre for Architecture
The Canadian Centre for Architecture is a museum of architecture and research centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Phyllis Lambert is the Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees, and Mirko Zardini is the Director and Chief Curator....
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
His publications include Berlin in the Time of the Wall (2004), which draws from some 10,000 images taken during more than twenty years of study of the city, The Romance Industry (2002), Empire (2000), There and Gone (1997), The Things That Animals Care About (1988), Stadt des Schwarz, LAMF: Three Days in Berlin 1987 (1987), and Hey Fuckface! (1984), a study of some of the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
-listed hazardous waste sites in and near Staten Island and Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. Several of these books are published in unusual formats, such as a wooden box with sliding Plexiglas panel, or with a newspaper clipping dustcover. Gossage collaborated with then-wife Terri Weifenbach on the photographic book Snake Eyes (2002). After a number of years with Nazraeli Press his usual publisher is now Loosestrife Editions and Steidl Verlag.
He has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and curated several photographic exhibitions. He lives and works in Washington, D.C.