Michael Somoroff is a conceptual artist, director, and photographer. Somoroff has directed and created work for advertising agencies, publications and cultural institutions. He is also a teacher and cultural commentator who has worked for

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, The University of the Arts, The

Rothko Chapel The Rothko Chapel is a non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its walls are fourteen paintings by Mark Rothko in ...

and the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP) is a photography museum and school at 84 Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. ICP's photographic collection, reading room, and archives are at Mana Contemporary in Jer ...

Early life

Somoroff's father, Ben Somoroff, was a still-life photographer whose works were exhibited at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. Somoroff spent much of his youth at his father's studio, on 54th street in New York City. He became his father's studio manager and worked with the many artists who frequented the studio.

Photography and Film Projects

In 1979, the first exhibition of Somoroff's photography was held at the

in New York City, under the supervision of

Cornell Capa Cornell Capa (; born Kornél Friedmann; April 10, 1918 – May 23, 2008) was a Hungarian-American photographer, member of Magnum Photos, photo curator, and the younger brother of photo-journalist and war photographer Robert Capa. Graduating fr ...

. Somoroff worked for magazines such as ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

,'' ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

,'' ''Harper's Bazaar,'' and ''

Stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...

,'' in Europe and the US. Somoroff photographed his mentors in photography Gyula Halász, better known as

Brassaï Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász, ; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerou ...

Andreas Feininger Andreas Bernhard Lyonel Feininger (December 27, 1906 – February 18, 1999) was an American photographer and a writer on photographic technique. He was noted for his dynamic black-and-white scenes of Manhattan and for studies of the structures ...

Louis Faurer Louis Faurer (August 28, 1916 – March 2, 2001) was an American candid or street photographer. He was a quiet artist who never achieved the broad public recognition that his best-known contemporaries did; however, the significance and caliber of ...

, and

André Kertész André Kertész (; 2 July 1894 – 28 September 1985), born Andor Kertész (), was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition (visual arts), composition and the photo essay. In the earl ...

and published the portraits in ''A Moment. Master Photographers: Portraits'' that was selected as Best Book of the Year by American Photo.

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...

got him his first assignment for ''New York'' magazine. Somoroff began directing films and became "a specialist in the little-known world of tabletop directing." In 2006, Somoroff created a large-scale outdoor installation, ''Illumination I,'' for the

in Houston. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' describes his approach as "Madison Avenue meets the Italian Renaissance: big budgets, large teams, high-tech tools and an artist-manager equally at ease with corporate sponsors and Chelsea gallerists." A companion piece to Somoroff's installation ''Illumination, Illumination'' (2007) is an album by the American ambient musician Robert Rich. On the occasion of the installation's move to

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The Aldrich has no permanent collection and is the only museum in Connecticut that is dedicated solely to the exhibition of contemporary art. The museum presents the first ...

in Ridgefield, CT, the audio track to Somoroff's ''Illumination,'' was presented as a multimedia installation by BravinLee Programs (2007). The sculpture was last exhibited at

Art OMI Art Omi, formerly Omi International Arts Center, is a non-profit international arts organization located in Columbia County in Ghent, New York. The organization provides residencies for writers, artists, architects, musicians, dancers and chore ...

in 2008. In 2008, Somoroff created a site-specific installation of the parting of the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

in wood and video projects at St. Peter's Art Station Cathedral in Cologne, Germany. ''Absence of Subject,'' Somoroff's "unconventional homage" to photographer

August Sander August Sander (17 November 1876 – 20 April 1964) was a German portrait photography, portrait and Documentary photography, documentary photographer. His first book ''Face of our Time'' (German: ''Antlitz der Zeit'') was published in 1929. Sande ...

, was first presented during the 2011

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

on Piazza San Marc. Somoroff's work is held in art collections of

, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; and Museo Correr; it has been exhibited at the International Center of Photography; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. In 2011, Somoroff produced a series of short videos of poet

Giannina Braschi Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...

reading from

United States of Banana ''United States of Banana'' (2011) is a postmodern allegorical novel by the Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi. It is a cross-genre work that blends experimental theatre, prose poetry, short story, and political philosophy with a manifesto on ...

, a work of

Postcolonial literature Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries, originating from all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the colonization and subsequent deco ...

;. Somoroff is an official "artist in residence" at the Wyss Translational Center Zurich. In 2014 Somoroff was hired as President of The Longaberger Company in Newark, Ohio. He left the position after six months.

Publications by Somoroff

*''The Vegetables Series.'' International Center of Photography, 1985. *''Kinder in Europa.'' Nicolai, 1988 . *''Image of the Not-Seen: Search for Understanding.'' The Rothko Chapel Art Series, 2005. . *''Michael Somoroff: Illumination I,''

, Rothko Chapel Books, 2008. . *''Absence of Subject.'' Walter König, 2011. . *''A Moment. Master Photographers, Portraits by Michael Somoroff.'' Damiani, 2012. . *''Two Crowns of The Egg.'' Michael Somoroff,

Donald Kuspit Donald Kuspit (born March 26, 1935) is an American art critic and poet, known for his practice of psychoanalytic art criticism. He has published on the subjects of avant-garde aesthetics, postmodernism, modern art, and conceptual art. Educatio ...

, Damiani, 2014. .

Exhibitions

*1979: ''Vegetable Series'',

, New York, NY *1985: Olympus Galerie, Hamburg, Germany *2006: ''Illumination'',

, Houston, Texas, 2006; ''Illumination'', The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT, 2007; BravinLee Programs, Chelsea, New York City, NY, 2007; ''Illumination'', OMI International Art Center, Sculpture park, Ghent, NY, 2008; *2007: ''Vitamin W'', The Wonder Factor, Newark, NJ *2008: ''The Red Sea'',

Kunst-Station Sankt Peter St Peter's Church (Sankt Peter) is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, run by the Jesuits. The painter Rubens was baptised in the church and his father was later buried there. Rubens' ''Crucifixion of St Peter'' is on display in the church. ...

, Köln, Germany *2008: ''Genesis'', Video Animation during Easter Mass, Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, Köln, Germany *2008: ''The Absence of the Subject'', Fotofest Houston, Offsite, Houston, Texas, 2008; Piazza San Marco, on the occasion of the

, Italy, 2011; Villa Brandolini F4 Un’Idea di Fotografia, Solighetto-Treviso, Italy, 2012; Galleri Image, Aarhus, Denmark, 2012; Fondazione Stelline, Milan, Italy, 2013; Centro de Arte la Regenta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, 2013; Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, Tenerife, Spain, 2013; Sala Municipal de Exposiciones de las Francesas, Valladolid, Spain, 2013; Museo Nacional des Artes Visuales, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2014; Encuentros Abiertos in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2014; Sirius Arts Centre, Cork, Ireland, 2014; Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece, 2014; Villa Vauban, Luxembourg City Museum, 2015; Ruth Leuchter gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany, 2015. *2012: ''Tefillah I'', Galerie Thomas Schulte, Berlin, Germany *2013: ''Master Photographers'', Galerie Julian Sander, Bonn, Germany, 2013; Fondazione Francesco Fabbri, Treviso, Italy, 2014; Sol Mednick Gallery at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somoroff, Michael Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American photographers American postmodern artists American video artists Jewish American artists American portrait artists American multimedia artists American sculptors 21st-century American Jews