Welcome to my blog about the history of creative photography in post-World War II Colorado, 1945–95. My intention is to publish a book that I am calling “Outside Influence.” The title has a double meaning: it alludes to Colorado’s association with landscape photography, and also acknowledges the influence of artists and educators coming into the state from US photography’s creative centers—Chicago and the coasts—and elsewhere.
As some of you know, in 2015 I left my job as director of the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and spent a year in Eugene, Oregon. On my return I decided to create what I think of as a legacy project. Once I was sure (or as sure as I could be) that no similar history existed, I decided to focus on Colorado’s photo history, which is most often associated with 19th century survey photography or scenic landscapes as defined by John Fielder.
To date, I have written seven of ten Chapters and five profiles, and have edited a dozen or so interviews from the seventy I have made since 2017. A few names you may recognize are Ruth Thorne-Thomsen, Hal Gould, Arnold Gassan, Barbara Houghton, Skip Kohloff and Lisbeth Neergaard Kohloff, Cherie Hiser, Jim Milmoe, and Robert Adams. Needless to say there are dozens - hundreds more - known, unknown, and soon-to-be-known, who will surface in the book and on this blog.
The fifty-year time span I chose to research (1945–95) encompasses what I think of as a uniquely innovative period that ends on the cusp of the digital era. In actual fact, though, my narrative extends back to the late 19th century with the birth of Laura Gilpin, and forward to the present time with photographers like Jim Milmoe, who arrived in Colorado in 1953 and remains active today.
Hal Gould and Mollie Uhl: Camera Obscura 1988. Top row (standing) l-r: Greg Matheny, Mollie Uhl. Front row (seated) l-r: Elaine Jarzen, Hal Gould, Klaus Kocher.
Since I began research in early 2017, I’ve interviewed more than seventy photographers and curators, and have visited numerous libraries, homes, and archives throughout the state. The learning curve has been immense, and the prospect of compiling an otherwise unrecorded history has been tremendously fulfilling.
This blog draws from my interviews, research, and obscure miscellany gathered for “Outside Influence.” It also represents an open invitation for you to contribute to my research by posting comments, questions, suggestions, and corrections. Your knowledge of regional artists and art history will help broaden and diversify the book’s narrative and will help ensure its accuracy.
In the coming weeks I’ll be uploading extracts from chapters in progress, and from interviews with artists, curators, and regional historians. Thanks for reading, please Subscribe, email, or leave a comment. Look for more images on Instagram at “ColoradoPhotoHistory.”