Thatcher Keats
Encyclopedia
Thatcher Keats is an American photographer, born August 8, 1965 in Hackensack, New Jersey. Keats attended the private, progressive Gill St. Bernard's School
"an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory day school". He began his career assisting photographers Larry Clark
, Arthur Tress
and Rosalind Solomon
, and now lectures, teaches and is widely exhibited. His father was actor Steven Keats
and Thatcher has also studied acting.
in 1982, alongside classmates Ken Burns
, Charlie Clouser
, musician, former member of Nine Inch Nails, and John Bechdel. He studied science and photography for a semester, culminating in a solo show in 1983. Keats shot movie stills in Los Angeles in 1983 and in 1984 began working as a commercial assistant for Anthony Edgeworth.
Keats spent the early 80s as a performance photographer, shooting for the New Jersey State Opera
in Newark, Mary Jane Eisenberg, Mabou Mines
Theater Company, and for organizations such as Rock Against Racism
. He photographed opera, theater and classical music while his later work is more social documentary, candid images.
In 1984 Keats contacted Larry Clark in an effort to acquire a copy of Clark's book Teenage Lust and subsequently Clark hired Keats to work with him, scouting locations and making prints for exhibition. Keats also assisted Clark with castings, placing ads in Back Stage
just prior to Clark's starting on Kids
. In 1983 he also worked with Arthur Tress, assisting him on his Hospital series, and for several years in the mid 80's with Rosalind Solomon on her work about AIDS, a relationship that continues today.
. In 1985 he played Danny in Henry Jaglom
's Always. He also appeared in the film 16W by photographer Gerald Slota in 2004 and studied with Austin Pendleton
for several years in the early 00's.
, Keats explores a new genre, coining the phrase "The Invasion Of Privacy Photographers" citing himself, Clark, Tress, Solomon, Nan Goldin
, Ryan McGinley
. 2011 classes include "The Empathetic Portrait - Portrait & the Figure", "Life With Photography" and "Finding Your Voice as a Photographer".
, afterword by Tim Foljahn. Keats photographed Moody for Moody's own author's portrait and has also provided photography for Foljahn's band Two Dollar Guitar.
Keats has been published in Fader, O magazine, Esquire, Vice Magazine
, Impracabeza and Vanity Fair magazines He also works with musicians on cover art, for example Sarcastic Orgasm, Wingdale Community Singers, and Teenage Teardrops. Most recently Keats provided the artwork for the 2011 album from Joan Wasser
, Joan As Policewoman's The Deep Field.
In 2009, Keats was a guest of Yaddo
, an artists' community in Saratoga Springs, New York and contributed to their benefit auction.
Dossier Journal
aCurator
Saatchi Online
Interview with Mossless
Gill St. Bernard's School
Gill St. Bernard's School is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational day school located in the Gladstone area of Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey, United States, serving students in primary through twelfth grade...
"an independent, nonsectarian, college preparatory day school". He began his career assisting photographers Larry Clark
Larry Clark
Lawrence Donald "Larry" Clark is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for the movie Kids and his photography book Tulsa...
, Arthur Tress
Arthur Tress
Arthur Tress is a notable American photographer born on November 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He is well known for his staged surrealism and exposition of the human body.- Education :* Abraham Lincoln High School, Coney Island, New York* B.F.A...
and Rosalind Solomon
Rosalind Solomon
Rosalind Solomon is an American artist and photographer, born April 2, 1930 in Highland Park, Illinois. Solomon's work has been shown in various solo and group exhibitions...
, and now lectures, teaches and is widely exhibited. His father was actor Steven Keats
Steven Keats
Steven Keats was an American actor who appeared in such films as Silent Rage, Death Wish, Black Sunday, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, and the TV-movie version of the Norman Mailer book The Executioner's Song starring Tommy Lee Jones.-Biography:The son of Jewish emigrants from Denmark, Keats was a...
and Thatcher has also studied acting.
Photography
Thatcher Keats attended Hampshire CollegeHampshire College
Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1965 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts...
in 1982, alongside classmates Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
, Charlie Clouser
Charlie Clouser
Charles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...
, musician, former member of Nine Inch Nails, and John Bechdel. He studied science and photography for a semester, culminating in a solo show in 1983. Keats shot movie stills in Los Angeles in 1983 and in 1984 began working as a commercial assistant for Anthony Edgeworth.
Keats spent the early 80s as a performance photographer, shooting for the New Jersey State Opera
New Jersey State Opera
The New Jersey State Opera is an opera company based in Newark, New Jersey. It was established in 1964 as the Opera Theater of Westfield, and shortly after opening Alfredo Silipigni was hired as Artistic Director. The name was changed to the Opera Theatre of New Jersey in 1965, and in 1968 the...
in Newark, Mary Jane Eisenberg, Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
Theater Company, and for organizations such as Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism
Rock Against Racism was a campaign set up in the United Kingdom in 1976 as a response to an increase in racial conflict and the growth of white nationalist groups such as the National Front. The campaign involved pop, rock and reggae musicians staging concerts with an anti-racist theme, in order...
. He photographed opera, theater and classical music while his later work is more social documentary, candid images.
In 1984 Keats contacted Larry Clark in an effort to acquire a copy of Clark's book Teenage Lust and subsequently Clark hired Keats to work with him, scouting locations and making prints for exhibition. Keats also assisted Clark with castings, placing ads in Back Stage
Back Stage
Back Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...
just prior to Clark's starting on Kids
Kids (film)
Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
. In 1983 he also worked with Arthur Tress, assisting him on his Hospital series, and for several years in the mid 80's with Rosalind Solomon on her work about AIDS, a relationship that continues today.
Acting
Keats acted in the 1975 film Hester Street and 1980's American Success Company alongside his father Steven KeatsSteven Keats
Steven Keats was an American actor who appeared in such films as Silent Rage, Death Wish, Black Sunday, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, and the TV-movie version of the Norman Mailer book The Executioner's Song starring Tommy Lee Jones.-Biography:The son of Jewish emigrants from Denmark, Keats was a...
. In 1985 he played Danny in Henry Jaglom
Henry Jaglom
- Life and career :Born January 26, 1941 in London, England to Simon and Marie Jaglom, Henry Jaglom trained with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York, where he acted, wrote and directed off-Broadway theater and cabaret before settling in Hollywood in the late 1960s...
's Always. He also appeared in the film 16W by photographer Gerald Slota in 2004 and studied with Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton
Austin Pendleton is an American film, television, and stage actor, a playwright, and a theatre director and instructor.-Life and career:...
for several years in the early 00's.
Teaching
Keats has been teaching in New York and New Jersey since 2005. In a class at New York's International Center of PhotographyInternational 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...
, Keats explores a new genre, coining the phrase "The Invasion Of Privacy Photographers" citing himself, Clark, Tress, Solomon, Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin
Nancy "Nan" Goldin is an American photographer.-Life and work:Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the Boston, Massachusetts suburb of Lexington, to middle class Jewish parents whose ideas, moderately liberal and progressive, were put to the test when on April 12, 1965 their eldest...
, Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley
Ryan McGinley is an American photographer living in New York City who began making photographs in 1998. In 2003, at the age of 25, McGinley was one of the youngest artist to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was also named Photographer of the Year in 2003 by American Photo...
. 2011 classes include "The Empathetic Portrait - Portrait & the Figure", "Life With Photography" and "Finding Your Voice as a Photographer".
Publications
Keats' monograph Confidence Games was published in 2006 by Charta Books with foreword by Rick MoodyRick Moody
Rick Moody is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel The Ice Storm, a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, which brought widespread acclaim, became a bestseller, and was made into a feature film of...
, afterword by Tim Foljahn. Keats photographed Moody for Moody's own author's portrait and has also provided photography for Foljahn's band Two Dollar Guitar.
Keats has been published in Fader, O magazine, Esquire, Vice Magazine
Vice (magazine)
VICE is a free magazine and media conglomerate founded in Montreal, Quebec and currently based in New York City.Vice is available in 27 countries...
, Impracabeza and Vanity Fair magazines He also works with musicians on cover art, for example Sarcastic Orgasm, Wingdale Community Singers, and Teenage Teardrops. Most recently Keats provided the artwork for the 2011 album from Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser
Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...
, Joan As Policewoman's The Deep Field.
Select Exhibitions, Galleries
- Ordinary Things, Carrie Haddad, Hudson, NY
- Nothing Human Disgusts Me, Dossier Journal
- Kids Behaving Badly ClampArt, NYC.
- ithoughtiwasalone
- Summer Show Christopher Henry Gallery, NYC
- National Arts Club, NYC
- Tiny Vices Curated by Tim Barber, traveled
- Bronx Museum
- Fashion ModaFashion ModaFashion Moda is a cultural concept. As a museum of science, art, invention, technology and fantasy in its South Bronx location from 1978-1993 it combined aspects of a community arts centre and a worldwide progressive arts organization.-History:...
South Bronx Show, Bronx, N.Y.C. Graffiti photographs - ArtNet
In 2009, Keats was a guest of Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
, an artists' community in Saratoga Springs, New York and contributed to their benefit auction.
Reviews
Art Most FierceDossier Journal
aCurator
Saatchi Online
Interview with Mossless