Gregory Halpern (born 1977) is an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

and teacher, living in Rochester, New York. He is a professor of photography at the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

and is a full member of

Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in Paris, New York City, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour (photographer), Davi ...

. Halpern has published a number of books of his own work; ''Zzyzx'' won PhotoBook of the Year at the 2016

Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards The Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards is a yearly Photo-book, photography book award that is given jointly by Paris Photo and Aperture Foundation. It is announced at the Paris Photo fair and was established in 2012. The categories ...

. He received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 2014.

Early life and education

Halpern grew up in Buffalo, New York. He holds a BA in history and literature from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and an MFA from

California College of the Arts The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened a second campus in ...

Life and work

''Omaha Sketchbook'' (2009) is an artist's book portrait of the titular city. '' Harvard Works Because We Do'' (2003) is a book of photographs and text, presenting a portrait of

through the eyes of the school's service employees. ''A'' (2011) is a photographic ramble through the streets of the American

Rust Belt The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt or Factory Belt, is an area of the United States that underwent substantial Deindustrialization, industrial decline in the late 20th century. The region is centered in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (Uni ...

. ''East of the Sun, West of the Moon'' (2014) is a collaboration with the photographer Ahndraya Parlato. ''Zzyzx'' (2016), named after

Zzyzx, California Zzyzx ( ), formerly Soda Springs, is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town in San Bernardino County, California, United States, within the boundaries of the Mojave National Preserve, managed by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency o ...

, contains photographs from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. ''Let the Sun Beheaded Be'' (2020) was made over several months in the French archipelago of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. ''King, Queen, Knave'' (2024) was made over 20 years visiting Halpern's home city of Buffalo, New York (again in the Rust Belt). Halpern became a nominee member of

in 2018, an associate member two years later, and a full member in 2023. He has taught at California College of the Arts,

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is a dedicated art school within Tufts University, a private research university in Mass ...

, Harvard University and the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

. He is currently a professor of photography at the

Personal life

Halpern is married to Ahndraya Parlato, also a photographer. They live in Rochester, New York with their two daughters.

Publications

Publications by Halpern

* '' Harvard Works Because We Do.'' New York: Quantuck Lane/

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly '' The Norton ...

, 2003. With an introduction by

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1985 for ''The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral histor ...

* ''Omaha Sketchbook.'' J&L, 2009. * ''A.'' J&L, 2011. * ''Zzyzx.'' London: Mack, 2016. * ''Confederate Moons.'' Oakland, CA: TBW, 2018. . Annual Series 6, Book 3. Halpern, Guido Guidi, Jason Fulford, and

Viviane Sassen Viviane Sassen (born 1972) is a Dutch artist living in Amsterdam. She is a photographer who works in both the fashion and fine art world. She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. She has been widely published an ...

each had one book in a set of four. Edition of 1000 copies. * ''Let the Sun Beheaded Be.'' New York: Aperture, 2020. . *''King, Queen, Knave''. London: Mack, 2024. .

Publications with others

*''The Photographer's Playbook: 307 Assignments and Ideas.'' New York:

Aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

, 2014. . Edited by Halpern and Jason Fulford. *''East of the Sun, West of the Moon.'' Études Books N°8. Paris: Études, 2014. By Ahndraya Parlato and Halpern. . With a text by Nicholas Muellner. Edition of 300 copies. In English and French.

Awards

*2014:

from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation is a private foundation formed in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Gr ...

*2016: ''Zzyzx'' won PhotoBook of the Year,

, Paris.

References

External links

*
Gregory Halpern On Documentary Ethics – Preoccupations, Subjectivity and Untruths (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halpern, Gregory 1977 births Living people People from Buffalo, New York Harvard University alumni California College of the Arts alumni American photographers Magnum photographers