ARTIST: DONALD E. CAMP
Art Histories are highly curated presentations of an artists’ life’s work provided for appreciators today, scholars of tomorrow, and generations to come.
Donald E. Camp has a strong reputation in Philadelphia with his work featured in museum collections and exhibitions in a number of respected institutions there and across the United States. In 1995, Camp was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship by the prestigious Pew Center for Arts and Heritage solidifying his reputation among scholars, critics, and patrons. He went on that same year to garner awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
With these endorsements of his work by some of the most important funders in the artistic community, Camp developed his signature work further to expand Dust Shaped Hearts, for which he has become known. Because Camp is a renowned artist and photographer, his work is appreciated and collected by patrons, critics, and institutions interested in photography, contemporary art, and African American artists. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at Ursinus College, where he had been an Artist in Residence for over 10 years and where there is a photography collection in his name.
“ In printing, I try to bring the materials together to make them one: the image, casein, and pigment become paper and the paper becomes pigment, casein, and image.
Created in this manner, my work seeks to communicate the honesty and sadness of a great blues performance.”
COLLECTION: DUST SHAPED HEARTS
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Artist Statement
Through insightful prints uniquely created to stand the test of time, Dust Shaped Hearts addresses the universal human struggle against intolerance and stereotype. Melding the subject matter of the human face with a lyrical and organic printing process yields a body of work that investigates history, humanity, and beauty.
Dust Shaped Hearts, as a series, began in 1993 with the purpose of recording the faces of African American men. The project was intended to be a sardonic statement about news reports of the threatened “extinction of the African American male.” Drawing upon my experience as a photojournalist, I re-defined the “newspaper headshot,” in order to go beyond stereotype and give thoughtful attention and permanence to the men I photographed.
Expanding the scope of these portraits, I photograph the human face (male and female), not because the person possesses a dramatic “photographic” face, but because of the person’s character. I photograph writers, artists, judges, musicians, and others. The face is shaped in the darkroom process as I expose and scrub the prints until they convey an authenticity and power. The scale is large (22 x 30 or 29 x 41 inches) to allow the visual language of the materials to be seen. Due to the specificity of each person and my non-reproducible printing method, only one unique print is made of each subject. Each face demands its own solution.
The existence of the Blues has greatly influenced my choice to create a unique photographic process. After researching light sensitive processes, I chose to modify a 19th century casein and pigment process settling on this form because it is more archival than the standard rare metal prints. Using materials as metaphor for the male and female, Dust Shaped Hearts is printed using earth (pigment) and milk (casein). Combining these organic materials to make images parallels my observation that basic photography is biological, not mechanical. In printing, I try to bring the materials together to make them one: the image, casein, and pigment become paper and the paper becomes pigment, casein, and image. Created in this manner, my work seeks to communicate the honesty and sadness of a great blues performance.
Interested in learning more about this collection? Purchase Dust Shaped Hearts by Donald E. Camp.
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PRESS
© Decorus exhibition curated by Amie Potsic. Artwork by Donald E. Camp, Tom Judd and Aubrie Costello. Presented at Space and Company in Philadelphia.
Don Camp discusses his life's work, Dust Shaped Hearts, and upcoming projects with the Guggenheim Foundation and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
African American Art Collection
Digital Exhibition by: The Philadelphia Museum of Art
© Donald E. Camp, Man Who Writes - Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., 1992, Photographic Casein Monoprint, Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The former GI who became a committed photo artist
French Newspaper: L'Est Républicain
The Canvas Says I Need
A Conversation with Professor Donald Camp
Written by: Kathryn Campbell
Biography: Donald Camp
Written by: The History Makers
Donald E. Camp
Written by: John A Benigno
© Donald E. Camp, Photo credit: Ursinus Magazine
MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
DELAWARE ART MUSEUM
Donald E. Camp
Emmet Till, America and Me
Emmett Till / America 1955, 1990. Donald Camp (born 1940). Glass mirror with liquid light and sun baked acrylic, 48 × 36 inches. Delaware Art Museum, Acquisition Fund, 2020 © Donald Camp.
COLLECTION: Emmett Till - America 1955
© Donald E. Camp. Installation view. Dust Shaped Hearts: Photographs by Donald E. Camp. Photo courtesy of The Berman Museum of Art
CATALOG ESSAY
For Donald E. Camp and Robert Frank’s concurrent exhibitions at The Berman Museum of Art in 2011.
“Finding the Blues: A Photographer’s Quest”
by Donald E. Camp, with Amie Potsic
“The search to tell my story, or even to recognize that I had a story, was elusive. I had to investigate myself to discover my own sense of meaning.” - Donald E. Camp
CONGRESSIONAL AWARD
Awarded to acknowledge individuals who, through their exceptional skills and talent, bring about a better understanding of the arts and culture in this Commonwealth.
COLLECTION: DUST SHAPED HEARTS: NOLA
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© Donald E. Camp, Photo credit: The Philadelphia Bulletin
Donald E. Camp, Founding Member
The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists
Donald E. Camp is a founding member for The Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists (PABJ) which is the nation’s oldest professional association of Black journalists. The PABJ is also the largest & the founding chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Donald E. Camp, AFAAR
Affiliated Fellow of the American Academy in Rome
Donald E. Camp is a resident and a member of the Society of Fellow of the American Academy of Rome. The Society of Fellows is a century-year-old organization whose membership is comprised of those who have been awarded a Fellowship, Affiliated Fellowship, or Residency at the American Academy in Rome.
COLLECTION: DUST SHAPED HEARTS: MEN WHO PRAY
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SAI serves artists in the Philadelphia region by providing educational information about preserving artists’ heritages. Click the video to watch the full segment featuring Camp.
Collection: DUST SHAPED HEARTS: SONS OF MY FATHER
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COLLECTION: “ON THE HILL”
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Interested in learning more about this collection? Read We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia 1920s-1970s by Woodmere Art Museum.
Click here to read the full publication.
© Donald E. Camp, Young Man #3 – Million Man March, 1996, Casein and raw earth pigment on archival rag paper, Photographic Casein Monoprints, 41 x 29 inches
To acquire artwork from Donald E. Camp’s collection, visit our Advisory Showroom.
Click here to download Donald E. Camp’s CV.
To learn more about the artist: https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/donald-e-camp.
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