VPA’s DuBois to offer emotional examination of family relations in upcoming photography monograph

VPA’s DuBois to offer emotional examination of family relations in upcoming photography monographApril 30, 2009Erica Blustesblust@syr.edu

Doug DuBois began photographing his family in 1984, prior to his father’s near-fatal fall from a commuter train and his mother’s subsequent breakdown and hospitalizations. Using these events as a narrative backdrop, DuBois, associate professor of art photography in Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA), embarked on a potent examination of family relations and what it means to subject personal relationships to the unblinking eye of the camera. More than 20 years later, the project has culminated in his first monograph, “Doug DuBois: All the Days and Nights,” which will be published by the Aperture Foundation in June.

“All the Days and Nights” features 62 four-color images and an essay by author Donald Antrim, a regular contributor to The New Yorker. Renowned online photography bookstore photo-eye describes the work as ” … flawlessly edited and stunningly sensitive,” while photographer and 5B4 blogger Jeffrey Ladd writes that it is ” … weighted with an unflinching gaze that risks acquiring too much knowledge both on the part of the photographer and the viewer.”

DuBois will sign copies of his book and give an artist’s talk on Tuesday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. at Aperture Gallery, 547 W. 27th St., New York City. He will also participate in a panel discussion on contemporary portraiture with photographer Richard Renaldi on Thursday, May 7, at 5 p.m. at the Affordable Art Fair, 20 W. 22nd St., Suite 1512, New York City.

Born in Dearborn, Mich., DuBois received a master of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Parco Gallery in Tokyo, among other venues, and can be found in the collections of such major institutions as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 2006, he received the John Gutmann Photography Fellowship.

For more information about the book and related events, visit http://www.aperture.org.

VPA is committed to the education of cultural leaders who will engage and inspire audiences through performance, visual art, design, scholarship and commentary. The college provides the tools for self-discovery and risk-taking in an environment that thrives on critical thought and action. Learn more at http://vpa.syr.edu.