A1-29 (A1-The Great North Road), 1982, © Paul Graham

Photographer Paul Graham has been named the 2012 recipient of the Hasselblad Award, the first British photographer to win the prominent international prize.

Graham, hailing from Buckinghamshire, is a pioneer of color documentary photography in 1980’s Britain, influencing successive generations of young photographers. Self-taught, he grew up studying the works of American pioneers, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, and Paul Strand. A-1 The Great Road North, a color series shot along the British motorway and Beyond Caring, a string of photographs shot in unemployment offices, were projects that brought Graham to critical and international acclaim in the early 80’s.

More recently, Graham’s work has become purposely abstruse as he challenges preconceived notions of the ‘style’ of documentary photography. The most exaggerated example is American Night. The series, shot in 2003, explores social and racial issues of the United States through over-exposed images that appear almost invisible. “The photography I most respect pulls something out of the ether of nothingness,” Graham states. American Night is featured in Graham’s body of work that is a part of the exhibition trilogy, The Present, now being exhibited at the Pace/MacGill gallery in New York City.

With the acceptance of this award, Graham joins the ranks of noted past winners and Aperture published photographers, Robert Adams, William Eggleston, and Nan Goldin.

Graham discusses his career and fresh photography in Aperture issue 199.

The summer issue of Aperture magazine #199, is now on newsstands.

Here are some of the features:

Artist Robert Gober’s selection of Diane Arbus’ lesser-known images, which he considers to have had an impact on his own work.

New panoramic iamges by Josef Koudelka, taken in northwestern Italy.

Photographer Paul Graham and writer/curator Aaron Schuman discuss Graham’s sequencing and point of view.

An examination of the OpenEnded Group’s use of technology, movement, and light.

A look at the reciprocal relationship between photography and performance, including images by Melanie Bonajo, William Lamson, and Lilly McElroy.

Richard Learoyd, who makes images with a camera obscura, is interviewed by Peggy Roalf about his influences and process of working.

Environmentalist and photographer Kelly Poe documents landscapes inspired by letters from incarcerated ‘eco-terrorists’.

Stephen Dupont’s collaboration with U.S. Marines combines his photographs with notes written by his subjects, answering the question “Why are you a Marine?”

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Lawnmower, Pittsburgh, 2004 © Paul Graham

A Conversation with Photographer Paul Graham
Monday, February 9, 7:00 pm
Visual Arts Theater
School of Visual Arts
333 West 23 Street
New York, New York
212 592 2011

FREE

The School of Visual Arts and Dear Dave magazine present photographer Paul Graham in dialogue with New York Times writer Philip Gefter.

British-born Paul Graham is recognized for his innovative and experimental contextualization of images and his unique way of assigning meaning to simple aspects in life. His latest work, A Shimmer of Possibility, which will be on view at MoMA from February 4–May 18, 2009 is a selection from a series of photographic works, illustrating the photographer’s particularly tender observation of daily life. Each simple, but structurally inventive series of images, focuses on one subject and each image builds upon the next to create a narrative, which allows us to get a glimpse into unanticipated moments in the lives of each individual.

The dialogue is the first in series of writer Philip Gefter’s conversations exploring contemporary photography among noted artists, critics, curators and editors.

A collection of his essays will be published in April by Aperture as Photography After Frank.