(b. 1960 Decatur, GA; lives Athens, GA)
Michael Stipe is a polymath. In addition to leading the band REM from 1980 until 2011, he often selected the band’s album art and directed videos. Stipe first took a photo class in 1975, and has recently turned more fully toward art making.
The PRC has a long history showcasing music photography and Stipe’s photographs were shown in an exhibition at the PRC, Two Times Intro (1998), which included work by musicians Stipe, Patti Smith, and Oliver Ray. Stipe was asked by Smith to join her on tour with Bob Dylan in 1995. An accompanying book of the same name includes text by Stipe, Smith, William S. Burroughs, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lenny Kaya, Tom Verlaine, and others (Smith has a photograph of her own included in the 2008 PRC Portfolio). This image of Smith shares affinity with Stipe’s other photographs, which are often diaristic and fragmentary.
Website: LensCulture feature on Michael Stipe
