Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography
British, 1947-1991
Michael Ormerod was born in Cheshire in 1947. He lived in Newcastle but spent many years traveling to America. Fascinated by the American image, and following in the footsteps of Robert Frank, Ormerod took to the American West to find a washed-out dream of capitalism. His images capture a strange juxtaposition of an American beauty tainted by a hidden sense of menace and corruption. Inverting the famous Hollywood sign, Ormerod photographs a Texaco sign from the back, dominating the empty, Western landscape. His photographs are those of the outsider, constantly traveling through a no-man’s-land. Ormerod’s book, States of America, was published shortly after he died to mark an exhibition held at the Zelda & Cheatle Gallery, London. Since then, only one major exhibition of his work has taken place in Sheffield in 2003. A reappraisal of his powerful and uncompromising chronicle of America is long overdue.
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Artist: Michael Ormerod
Man Walking Past Parking Lot, 1989 - Black and White Photographic Print
By Michael Ormerod
Located in Brighton, GB
Man Walking Past Parking Lot is a Black and White Photographic Print on Hahnemuhle Paper in an Edition of 10 in this size of 24" x 34".
States of America is the photographic legacy of one of the UK’s leading photographic talents whose untimely death in 1991 ended prematurely the highly promising career of a distinctive and powerful photographic voice.
Michael Ormerod was born in Cheshire in 1947. He lived in Newcastle, but spent many years travelling America. Fascinated by the American image, and following in the footsteps of Robert Frank, Ormerod took to the American West to find a washed out dream of capitalism. His images capture a strange juxtaposition of an American beauty tainted by a hidden sense of menace and corruption.
The photographs are understated, but show an unseen America, where the industrial heartland is decaying, highways stand empty and towns are deserted. The subjects of Ormerod’s work are the disenfranchised. A teenager cycles through her neighbourhood wearing a Halloween-style hockey mask, a Native American man stands in a graveyard, their expressions are unreadable.
The work subverts traditional American icons. A white picket fence is staved in, a huge billboard for Miss Teen Dakota USA stands next to an empty highway. Inverting the famous Hollywood sign, Ormerod photographs a Texaco sign...
Category
1980s Modern Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Black and White
Man Walking in Front of Building, Houston, 1989 - Black and White Print
By Michael Ormerod
Located in Brighton, GB
Man Walking in Front of Building, Houston is a Black and White photographic print on Hahnemuhle paper, in 24" x 34" in an edition of 10.
States of America is the photographic legacy of one of the UK’s leading photographic talents whose untimely death in 1991 ended prematurely the highly promising career of a distinctive and powerful photographic voice.
Michael Ormerod was born in Cheshire in 1947. He lived in Newcastle, but spent many years travelling America. Fascinated by the American image, and following in the footsteps of Robert Frank, Ormerod took to the American West to find a washed out dream of capitalism. His images capture a strange juxtaposition of an American beauty tainted by a hidden sense of menace and corruption.
The photographs are understated, but show an unseen America, where the industrial heartland is decaying, highways stand empty and towns are deserted. The subjects of Ormerod’s work are the disenfranchised. A teenager cycles through her neighbourhood wearing a Halloween-style hockey mask, a Native American man stands in a graveyard, their expressions are unreadable.
The work subverts traditional American icons. A white picket fence is staved in, a huge billboard for Miss Teen Dakota USA stands next to an empty highway. Inverting the famous Hollywood sign, Ormerod photographs a Texaco sign...
Category
1980s Contemporary Michael Ormerod Figurative Photography
Materials
Photographic Paper, Black and White
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Michael Ormerod figurative photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Michael Ormerod figurative photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Michael Ormerod in paper, photographic paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Michael Ormerod figurative photography, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Justin Creedy Smith, Jose Picayo, and Morgan Silk. Michael Ormerod figurative photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,156 and tops out at $1,849, while the average work can sell for $1,849.