Marc Atkins is an English artist, photographer, filmmaker and poet, born in 1962, best known for his photography of cities and nudes, also commercially for music album and book covers.
Background
Atkins attended Staffordshire College of Art and Design, gaining a Distinction; Cheltenham School of Art, receiving a First Class Honors Degree (in sculpture), followed by Postgraduate Studies at the
Jan Van Eyck Academie,
Netherlands (in performance, video, film and photography). After spending the subsequent year in Rome, he returned to London.
He then moved to Canada where, he became assistant professor at the
University of Windsor
, mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge
, established =
, academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada
, former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963)
, type = Public univers ...
, Ontario, during which time he travelled across North America. Since then, Atkins has lived and worked in London, but has also spent extended periods of time in Rome, New York,
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
and Paris.
Atkins has presented his work and ideas on the image at lectures and conferences at venues such as the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
, London,
UEL School of Architecture, London,
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...
, London, Instytut Mikołowski, Poland, the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
Paris,
The Photographers' Gallery
The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography.
It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established i ...
, London,
Université de Liège, Belgium and the
,
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
Atkins' work is exhibited regularly, and has been published and reviewed in books, magazines and newspapers worldwide, including ''V & A Magazine'', ''Le Passant Ordinaire'',
''Frieze'', ''Negronia'', ''Dwukropek'', ''Performance Research'', ''Porzucone twarze'', ''Fotographia'', and ''Hotshoe International''.
As a commercial photographer has worked for many organisations, including
The Art Fund
Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...
,
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
,
Vaughan Oliver
Vaughan Oliver (12 September 1957 – 29 December 2019) was a British graphic designer based in Epsom, Surrey. Oliver was best known for his work with graphic design studios 23 Envelope and v23. Both studios maintained a close relationship wit ...
/ v23 and
University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea ...
. He has produced images for numerous CD and vinyl covers,
including
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
('Good Day Today' and 'I know'),
The Breeders
The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherso ...
,
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
,
Scott Walker and
Jah Wobble
John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
, and also for over one hundred book-jackets, including
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' (19 ...
,
Anaïs Nin
Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the ...
,
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language; though he did not sp ...
,
Georges Bataille,
R. L. Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
,
Peter Ackroyd
Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
,
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
,
A. L. Kennedy
Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction, and is known for her dark tone and her blending of realism and fantasy. She contributes columns ...
and
Iain Sinclair
Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Biography Education
Sinclair was born in Cardiff in 1943. From 1956 to 1961, he was educa ...
.
He has completed several video commissions, including music videos
and short films on
Byam Shaw School of Art
The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by John Liston Byam Shaw and ...
and
Central Saint Martins School of Art. His work is in many public and private collections. Several of his photographic portraits are in the collection of the
National Portrait Gallery, London.
Bibliography
*"The Prism Walls" solo prose/poetry (
Contraband Books )
*"Still Moving" solo photography with poetry by
Rod Mengham (Veer Books )
*"The Logic of the Stairwell" solo prose/poetry (
Shearsman Books )
*"The Teratologists", solo photography (panoptika )
*"Liquid City", solo photography with text by
Iain Sinclair
Iain Sinclair FRSL (born 11 June 1943) is a writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, recently within the influences of psychogeography. Biography Education
Sinclair was born in Cardiff in 1943. From 1956 to 1961, he was educa ...
(
Reaktion Books
Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In rece ...
)
*"Thirteen", solo photography with text by thirteen writers, including
Julian Rathbone
Julian Christopher Rathbone (10 February 1935 – 28 February 2008) was an English novelist.
Life
Julian Rathbone was born in 1935 in Blackheath, south London. The son of Christopher and Decima Rathbone he was a member of the Rathbone famil ...
,
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with ...
,
James Sallis
James Sallis (born December 21, 1944) is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel '' Drive'', which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same nam ...
,
Mick Farren
Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground.
Early life
Farren was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and af ...
,
Stella Duffy
Stella Frances Silas Duffy (born 1963) is a London-born writer and theatremaker. Born in London, she spent her childhood in New Zealand before returning to the UK.
Early life and education
Born in London in 1962 to a New Zealand father and an ...
and
Nicholas Royle
Nicholas Royle (born 20 March 1963 in Manchester) is an English novelist, editor, publisher, literary reviewer and creative writing lecturer.
Literary career
Author
Royle has written seven novels: ''Counterparts'', ''Saxophone Dreams'', ''The Mat ...
. (The Do-Not Press )
*"Warszawa" solo photography with poetry by
Tadeusz Pioro and
Andrezj Sosnowski (Wig-press )
*"The World's Top Photographers: Nudes”, also includes the work of
Guy Bourdin
Guy Bourdin (2 December 1928 – 29 March 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with '' Vogue'' as well as other publications including '' Harper's Bazaar''. He sho ...
,
Bettina Rheims
Bettina Caroline Germaine Rheims (; born 18 December 1952) is a French photographer.
Career Early stages
Bettina Rheims was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Her photographic career began in 1978, when she took a series of photos of a group of strip- ...
,
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...
and
Rankin
Rankin may refer to:
Places Australia
*Division of Rankin, an electoral district in the Australian Federal House of Representatives, in Queensland Canada
*Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
*Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut
* Rankin River, Ontario
* Rankin Locat ...
(
RotoVision )
*"The Nude" also includes the work of
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983)Paul DelanyBill Brandt: A Life was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British ...
&
Ralph Gibson
Ralph Gibson (born January 16, 1939) is an American art photographer best known for his photographic books. His images often incorporate fragments with erotic and mysterious undertones, building narrative meaning through contextualization and ...
(
RotoVision )
*"Faces of Mathematics", solo photography with introductions by Nick Gilbert, and also with text by the participants, including
Sir Michael Atiyah
Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (; 22 April 1929 – 11 January 2019) was a British-Lebanese mathematician specialising in geometry. His contributions include the Atiyah–Singer index theorem and co-founding topological K-theory. He was awarded ...
. (panoptika )
Exhibitions
* 2015 : ''Marc Atkins'', in
Liège (Belgium), Galerie Wittert, Collections artistiques de l'
Université de Liège.
References
External links
Marc Atkins websiteMarc Atkins commercial photographyA selection of short films by Marc AtkinsMarc Atkins work at the National Portrait GalleryMarc Atkins exhibition at FABSRod Mengham / Saatchi on Marc Atkins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Marc
1962 births
Living people
Photographers from Staffordshire