Mark Cohen

Artist Bio

Mark Cohen (b.1943) is an American photographer best known for his innovative street photography.

Cohen was born and lives in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University and Wilkes College between 1961 and 1965, and opened a commercial photo studio in 1966.  Cohen’s photography was first exhibited in the 1969 exhibition Vision and Expression organised by Nathan Lyons at George Eastman House.  He has twice been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship  and received a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1975.  A monograph of black and white photographs, Grim Street, was published in 2005 by powerHouse Books. A second book, True Color, followed in 2007.

The majority of the work for which Cohen is known is shot in the neighbourhoods of Wilkes-Barre and Scranton. Characteristically he shoots his subjects close in, often using a wide-angle lens and flash, frequently cropping the subjects’ heads from the frame, concentrating on small details and moments.

Cohen has described his method as ‘intrusive’.  “They’re not easy pictures. But I guess that’s why they’re mine.” (wikipedia)

Mark Cohen on Artnet

Mark Cohen at the George Eastman House

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