Before Cindy Sherman, Jeff Wall and Thomas Demand there was Ken Botto (1937-2008). More than a decade prior to these recognized names being celebrated by the art world, Botto was experimenting with staged, color photography, creating groundbreaking work in the confines of a simple outdoor studio. A pioneer of this new, constructed imagery, Botto’s work was included by Peter Galassi in his 1991 landmark exhibition, The Pleasures and Terrors of Domestic Comfort, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Botto exhibited extensively during his lifetime and his work is included in numerous international public and private collections.
Ken Botto, Billboards, Limos, and Walls: Number One, 1991, C-Print, 16” x 20”
Established in 2008 after the artist’s death, the Kenneth J. Botto Photography Trust manages and promotes the estate and photography archive of Ken Botto. The Trust is pleased to announce the Kenneth J. Botto Research Fellowship at the Center for Creative Photography (CCP), University of Arizona, Tucson. The annual fellowship, supported by a gift from the artist’s estate, will award up to $5,000 to support research at the CCP by curators, writers, and researchers in one of the following areas:
-Research on the life and work of Ken Botto
-Research on photographers whose work incorporates set-up, collage, or constructed imagery
-Research on photographers whose work is a critical comment on political, social, and/or art historical issues in society.
Advanced scholars, researchers and curators from any discipline are encouraged to apply.
Application deadline is Thursday, January 15, 2015.
Ken Botto, Robot Portrait: “Laser” Robot, 1983, C-Print, 20” x 16”
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Additional Information
For additional information on the life and work of Ken Botto, please visit the Kenneth J. Botto Photography Trust at:
www.kenbotto.com
For application guidelines please visit the Kenneth J. Botto Research Fellowship page on the CCP’s website.
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Blog entry by in Berlin; Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014.
