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Allan Porter

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Swiss photographer (1934–2022)

Allan Porter (April 29, 1934 – October 5, 2022) was an American Swiss photographer, journalist, editor, designer, and art director best known for his role as editor of Camera. His eye for talent helped launch the career of many now-renowned photographers, namely Josef Koudelka, Stephen Shore, and Sarah Moon amongst many others.

Early life and education

'Holiday' magazine cover April 1953.
Photo: Robert Capa

Allan Porter was the elder of three brothers born to parents of Russian-Jewish ancestry living in Philadelphia. After attending Stokely Elementary School then Blaine Junior High School, Porter's father wanted him to prepare for a business education, but one of his earliest hobbies, collecting 19th-century circus posters, already showed a propensity for art and graphic design.

After graduating from Central High school in 1952, Allan Porter enrolled as a scholarship student in the Philadelphia Museum College of Art, and studied graphic design, painting, photography and art history under teachers such as Franz Kline. One of his study projects was to compose a cover for "Holiday" magazine (a magazine that he would later work for): the work was rejected by his teacher, but an amazingly similar cover appeared on the newsstands one month later. During his education, he found employment in a darkroom, and through the same lab had his first exposure to lithography techniques. One of his 1953 photography experiments resulted a definite fascination with that medium as well, a time from which he participated in several expositions, winning first prize at the Philadelphia Exhibition of Industrial Photography in 1954.

His studies were interrupted by army service from 1955 in German Aschaffenburg and Stuttgart; when his military service ended, he completed his last half year of studies and graduated from the Philidalphia Museum with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He would return to Offenbach to attend the typography courses of Hans Schmidt: inspired by his teacher's work with tapestry-workshop owners Gret Mohrhardt und Inge Richter, Allan weaved a first "Tower of Babel" tapestry in 1857, which would be shown at an exhibition for of former Philadelphia Museum School students one year later.

Early career

Art Directors' Club award-winning Madison Avenue magazine cover
Photo: Allan Porter

After unsuccessfully trying to find work in New York, Allan Porter returned to Phillidalphia to work at "Holiday" magazine between 1957 and 1959, and edited the August edition of the latter year practically on his own: this was his first experience as editor, and enacting his idea to present landscapes with no people for that issue led to his encounter with photographers Brett Weston and Ansel Adams, and Jack Kerouac and Truman Capote, writers for the magazine then.

All while serving as art director for Seventeen magazine from 1959, Porter took trips to Offenbach to complete two more tapestries, "City of Non Dwellers" and "Four Seraphim Guarding the Cross", and would return yet again to complete "Kedosheem Tehehyoo" one year later. But, still in 1959, Allan presented his works for the first time in a group exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, was included in an American Federation of Arts-sponsored group tour, and again in a solo exhibition, accompanied by his etching and lithography work, at America's location at 106 West 56th Street, New York City, America House. He also worked for Madison Avenue, an alternative magazine, that year, and would win the Art Direction and Photo prize from the Art Directors Club the year after.

At the same time as the above, creative agent Emilio d'Antonio (representing Andy Warhol, John Cage and Robert Frank, amongst others) presented Allan to architect George Nelson, and through him began work on pavilions, displays and presentations for the 1959 American National Exhibition: with Charles and Ray Eames he designed presentations and media supports for Buckminster Fuller's 'Dome' project, and the same again for their "Glimpses of America" projections of 2,200 images onto seven large screens. Lastly, under the direction of Edward Steichen and the Museum of Modern Art, he designed the supports for the "Family of Man" exhibit. After a six-month convalescence period because of a motorcycle accident, and still working with Nelson, he worked extensively on the design and presentation of the synergetics "City of Tomorrow" pavilion for the 1962 Seattle "Century 21 Exhibition".

Porter finally moves from Philadelphia to New York City in 1963 and became involved in the beat generation scene and artists such as Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Robert Frank, Leroi Jones, Edward Dahlberg. After Kennedy's assassination that year, and friend-photographer Horst H. Baumann's proposition to do the layout for his upcoming book, "The New Matadors", brought him to Lucerne, Switzerland and the Bucher editing company, the publishers of Camera.

Editor of Camera

Camera, begun by engineer Adolf Herz and book-publisher C. J. Bucher in June 1922, was an endeavour to take photography beyond its then-utilitarian limitations and build appreciation for it as an art-form. Bucher's wife, Alice, who took over the publisher role after her husband's stroke in 1941, tried a series of editors after Herz had stopped editing the magazine from 1947, but when the magazine found itself in difficulty in the mid-1960s, she thought that Porter's insightfulness and 'foreign touch' would bring a fresh start to the magazine. First appearing in December 1965 as guest editor, Allan Porter became editor in chief of Camera from the following year. In addition to re-looking the publication, Porter began a campaign to increase readership through subscriptions, namely those of libraries and other international institutions, and negotiated an increased US circulation. From its 1965 circulation of 9,300, Porter had promised an 8% increase in readership, but it had already increased by 20% at the end of his first year.

Always on the lookout for new and innovative imagery for Camera, Porter helped launch the career of many now-renowned photographers, namely Josef Koudelka (1974), Stephen Shore, and Sarah Moon. Porter's Camera was also the first to showcase the more experimental work of photography's greats, such as Richard Avedon's 'Jacob Israel Avedon' series on his (dying) father that appeared in November 1974.

After a successful run of 16 years, the last issue of Camera appeared on 1 December 1981.

Exhibitions

Solo

  • 1955, Philadelphia, Gilded Cage Gallery, Allan Porter. Paintings & Photographs.
  • 1984, Zurich, Nikon Gallery, Allan Porter and friends in photography.

Group

  • 1954, Philadelphia, American Museum of Photography, Industrial Photography.
  • 1970, Lausanne, Galerie Impact, Creative Photography.
  • 1994, Liestal, Kunsthalle Palazzo, John Miller – Christina Frey. Photographs from the collection Allan Porter.
  • 1997, Kriens, Museum in the Bell Park, Private View. Collection Allan Porter (with Lisette Model).
  • 2013, Lucerne, Fotokammer, Transatlantik link.

Awards

  • 1954, American Museum of Photography, Philadelphia, First Prize at Exhibition of Industrial Photography.
  • 1970, German Academy of Photography, David Octavius Hill Medal.
  • 1979, German Society for Photography (DGPh), Culture Prize.

Publications

Author, written word

  • The Neophytes, a Novel (1955)
  • Sagittarius and the Mermaid (1969).
  • There was a Land of Day with Zebras with White Stripes and Black Bodies, children's book (1975)
  • A Child's Garden of Photography (1979).
  • "Photomania", a short story (1981)
  • Remembrance of things present (How I see them as I saw them) (1984).

Author, editing, art direction

(publisher: Photothema, Bär Verlag)

  • Wie ich sie sehe, wie ich sie sah (1984 – with Dieter W Portmann).
  • Josef Sudek, 1896–1976 (1985).
  • Alfred Stieglitz. Camera Work (1985).
  • Schreiben mit Licht (1985).
  • Soviet photography, 1919–1939 (1986).
  • Luc Chessex. El Público (1988).
  • Flor Garduño. Bestiarium (1987).
  • Jay Maisel. Photostroika (1989).
  • Jiří Jíru. Photostroika (1989).
  • Pepi Merisio. Gli Italiani (1989).
  • The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis, printed directly from original photogravures, 1903–1925 (1973).
  • Weegee, 1899–1968 (1991).
  • Hanspeter Schneider. Unplugged (1993).
  • A Photographic Collection by a Photographic Critic
  • A Concise History of Chinese Photography
  • Out of Fashion (1994)

Portfolios

  • Twelve Instant Images on Polaroid Type-105 Positive-Negative Film (1974).
  • Polaroid SX70, 12 Instant Images 1973
  • Polaroid Instant Images 1974

Exhibition catalogues

Introduction, editing, design

  • Alexey Brodovitch (1982 – Paris Grand Palais Exposition Catalogue with Georges Tourdjmann).

Introduction

  • Barnaby Bossart,1989
  • Tomiyasu Shiraiwa,1987
  • David Scopic, 1990

Editing, design

Exhibitions: creative direction and design

  • Holiday meets Belgium, Philadelphia 1958
  • American National Exhibition in Moscow,1959
  • Century 21, Theme Exhibition, Seattle, Washington 1962
  • Color Photography, Arles France 1978
  • First World Congress of Craftsmen,1960
  • Museum of Contemporary Crafts. 1961
  • Photokina The Printed Photograph, 1984
  • Camera 1922–1982 Sixty years, Kunsthaus Zürich,1991

Poster design

Monographs: editing and design

  • Living Masters of Photography (Part 3) (1973).
  • Art Kane (1973).
  • Sarah Moon (1976).
  • Museum without Walls (1978 – special MoMA-expo edition of Camera, introduction).
  • Michael Mitchell "Nightlife" (1978 – exposition catalogue, introduction).
  • Josef Koudelka, a monograph (1979).
  • People in Camera (1979 – design, afterword)
  • Christer Strömholm (1981)
  • Los Angeles Documentary Project (1981).
  • Foundation for Photography Switzerland : 10 years (1981 – special edition of Camera).
  • André Gelpke "Sex-Theatre" (1981 – introduction)
  • Mexico: An Exhibition of Photographs (1990).

Other works

  • Photography, 1839–1972; Camera, 1922–1972 (1972)
  • Photographis '71: International Advertising Photography (1972).
  • Photography, an Iconographic, Chronological History (1972).
  • A Concise Chronology of Instant Photography 1947–1974 (1975).
  • Open photography: An Exhibition of Work Selected by Allan Porter and Keith Arnatt (1976 – with Keith Arnatt and the Midland Group (Nottingham, England)).
  • Autoportrait (1978)
  • Exploration of a Medium (1978 – Polaroid, Amsterdam publication with other authors).
  • Camera: die 50er Jahre (1982).
  • Polaroid. Eine Episode (2002 – with Marco Meier).

Notes

  1. "Allan Porter | fotoCH".
  2. ^ Koudelka et al. 2014, Josef Koudelka: Nationality Doubtful
  3. ^ Olonetzky 2007, Ein Amerikaner in Luzern: Allan Porter und Camera—eine Biografie
  4. Olonetzky 2007, p. 19, Ein Amerikaner in Luzern: Allan Porter und Camera—eine Biografie: "Drucktechniken also und Fotografie werden erneut wichtig und sie erhalten noch mehr Bedeutung, als die Grafikabteilung der Schule die Aufgabe aus- schreibt, für die literarische Reisezeitschrift «Holiday Magazine» ein Titelbild zu entwerfen; das Thema ist Paris. «Als alle Vorschläge an der Wand hingen, kam der Lehrer zu meinem Vorschlag und sagte: ‹Hier sehen wir ein Beispiel, wie man es nicht machen darf! ‹Holiday› würde so etwas nie publizieren: eine fast leere Seite mit einem kleinen Bild des Arc de Triomphe und dazu die Schrift in zwei, drei Farben.› Ich entgegnete, dass es auch ein Foto sein könnte, nicht ein Aquarell, wie ich es vorgeschlagen hatte. Es war ja nur eine Skizze. Aber: ‹Nein! So etwas kommt nicht in Frage!› Ich muss sagen, ich war nicht nur belei- digt, ich war gedemütigt. Es schien die schlechteste Arbeit zu sein, die ich je gemacht hatte. Doch: Einen Monat später stellte sich heraus, dass ‹Holiday› tat- sächlich eine Titelseite produziert hatte wie in meinem Vorschlag: Eine Foto- grafie des Arc de Triomphe, dazu eine gestreifte Schrift, allerdings nicht in Rot, Blau, Weiss, wie ich das vorgeschlagen hatte."
  5. ^ foto-ch.ch, FotografIn: Porter, Allan
  6. hansschmidt.de, Hans Schmidt: SCHRIFTTAPISSERIEN
  7. Olonetzky 2007, p. 19, Ein Amerikaner in Luzern: Allan Porter und Camera—eine Biografie: "Allan Porter bleibt von 1957 bis Ende 1958 bei «Holiday» und kann schliesslich die Ausgabe vom August 1958 weitgehend alleine realisieren."
  8. holiday-paris.fr, Holiday – Magazine History
  9. Red Bank Register, "(Porter) To Display Tapestry"
  10. episcopalarchives.org, News Service: Photo for Press Release # XVI-10
  11. Art Directors Int 1960, Art Directors Annual of Advertising Arts, January 1, 1960
  12. moma.org, Edward Steichen Archive in The Museum of Modern Art
  13. imaging-resource.com, Legendary ‘Camera’ magazine rises from the ashes
  14. fotostiftung.ch, Fotostiftung: Index der FotografInnen
  15. americansuburbx.com, Richard Avedon – 'Jacob Israel Avedon' (1974)
  16. fotodok.swiss, Allan Porter – Fotodok
  17. fotostiftung.ch, Index der FotografInnen
  18. nagel-draxler.de, John Miller – Galerie Nagel Draxler – Art
  19. keitelmangallery.com, Keitelman Gallery
  20. fotodok.swiss – Fotokammer, Fotokammer – Fotodok
  21. null41.ch, Mit Fotos die Welt erobern
  22. deutsche-fotografische-akademie.com, Preistraeger
  23. dgph.de, The Cultural Award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie
  24. Porter 1969, Sagittarius and the mermaid
  25. Porter 1979, A child's garden of photography
  26. Porter 1984, Remembrance of Things Present
  27. Porter & Portmann 1984, Wie ich sie sehe, wie ich sie sah
  28. Sudek & Porter 1985, Josef Sudek
  29. Porter & Stieglitz 1985, Camera Work, Alfred, Stieglitz
  30. Porter 1985, Schreiben mit Licht
  31. Porter 1986, Sowjet-Photographie: 1919–1939
  32. Chessex & Porter 1988, Luc Chesses: el público
  33. Garduño & Porter 1987, Bestiarium
  34. Porter & Maisel 1979, Jay Maisel
  35. Jírů & Porter 1989, Jiří Jírů: Photostroika
  36. Merisio & Porter 1989, Pepi Merisio: gli Italiani
  37. Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis, printed directly from original photogravures, 1903–1925
  38. Weegee & Porter 1991, Weegee
  39. Schneider, Porter & Portmann 1993, Hanspeter Schneider, unplugged
  40. Porter 1974, Twelve Instant Images on Polaroid Type 105 Positive/Negative Film.
  41. Porter & Tourdjman 1982, Alexey Brodovitch
  42. Porter 1973, Living Masters of Photography (Part 3)
  43. Art Kane, Art Kane
  44. Sarah Moon, Sarah Moon
  45. Porter & Museum of Modern Art (New York N.Y.) 1974, Choice: 'Museum without walls'.
  46. Porter & Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) 1978, Nightlife: photographs.
  47. Porter & Sallenave 1979, Josef Koudelka, a monograph
  48. National Portrait Gallery (Great Britain) & Porter 1979, People in Camera, 1839–1914
  49. Porter & Strömholm 1980, Christer Strömholm: indelible images
  50. Porter, Jutzi & Photography Museum (Los Angeles Calif.) 1981, Los Angeles documentary project 1981
  51. Porter & Fondation suisse pour la photographie 1981, Foundation for photography Switzerland : 10 years
  52. centrepompidou.fr, Sex-Theater Centre Pompidou
  53. abebooks.fr, Sex – Theater. Eine fotografische Dokumentation
  54. Centro de Estudos de Fotografia (Coimbra Portugal) & Porter 1990, Mexico: an Exhibition of Photographs
  55. Porter 1972a, Photography, 1839–1972: Camera, 1922–1972
  56. Photographis 71, Photographis '71: international advertising photography
  57. Porter 1972a, Photography, 1839–1972: Camera, 1922–1972
  58. Porter 1975, A concise chronology of instant photography 1947–1974
  59. Open Photography et al. 1976, Open photography: exhibition of work selected by Allan Porter and Keith Arnatt : 8 May – 5 June 1976.
  60. Porter 1978a, Autoportrait
  61. Porter 1978b, Exploration of a medium
  62. Porter 1982, Camera: die 50er Jahre : Photographie und Texte
  63. Porter & Meier 2002, Polaroid. Eine Episode

References

Book references

  • Auer, Michèle; Auer, Michel (1985-01-01). Encyclopédie Internationale Des Photographes de 1839 À Nos Jours (in French). Editions Camera obscura. ISBN 9782903671068.
  • Koudelka, Josef; Alexander, Stuart; Maddox, Amanda; Tiberghien, Gilles A. (2014). Josef Koudelka: Nationality Doubtful. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300203929.
  • Olonetzky, Nadine (2007). Ein Amerikaner in Luzern: Allan Porter und Camera--eine Biografie (in German). Pro Libro. ISBN 9783952316337.
  • Porter, Allan (1969). Sagittarius and the mermaid. Lucerne: Porter. OCLC 730118702.
  • Porter, Allan (1979). A child's garden of photography (in German). Lucerne, Switzerland: Camera, C.J. Bucher. OCLC 38824291.
  • Porter, Allan (1982). Camera, Die 50er Jahre (in German). C.J. Bucher. ISBN 3-7658-0399-5.
  • Porter, Allan (1984). Remembrance of Things Present. U. Bär Verlag.
  • Porter, Allan; Portmann, Dieter W (1984). Wie ich sie sehe, wie ich sie sah. Zürich: Bär. OCLC 230916207.
  • Sudek, Josef; Porter, Allan (1985). Josef Sudek (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137019. OCLC 995471782.
  • Porter, Allan; Stieglitz, Alfred (1985). Camera Work, Alfred, Stieglitz (in German). Zürich: Bär. ISBN 9783905137033. OCLC 721471778.
  • Porter, Allan (1985). Schreiben mit Licht (in German). Zürich: Bär. ISBN 9783905137040. OCLC 231965428.
  • Chessex, Luc; Porter, Allan (1988). Luc Chesses: el público (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. OCLC 28070104.
  • Garduño, Flor; Porter, Allan (1987). Bestiarium (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137132. OCLC 22461326.
  • Porter, Allan; Maisel, Jay (1979). Jay Maisel. Zurich: Graphis Press. OCLC 640143998.
  • Jírů, Jiří; Porter, Allan (1989). Jiří Jírů: Photostroika (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137217. OCLC 25240189.
  • Merisio, Pepi; Porter, Allan (1989). Pepi Merisio: gli Italiani (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137224. OCLC 27887930.
  • Weegee; Porter, Allan (1991). Weegee (in German). Zürich: Bär. ISBN 9783905137323. OCLC 961287606.
  • Schneider, Hanspeter; Porter, Allan; Portmann, Dieter W (1993). Hanspeter Schneider, unplugged (in German). Zürich: U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137415. OCLC 84280068.
  • Porter, Allan (1974). TWELVE INSTANT IMAGES ON POLAROID TYPE 105 POSITIVE/NEGATIVE FILM. O.O: POLAROID. OCLC 1073832357.
  • Porter, Allan; Tourdjman, Georges (1982). Alexey Brodovitch (in French). Paris: Ministere de la Culture. OCLC 215264547.
  • Porter, Allan (1973). Living Masters of Photography (Part 3). Lucerne: C.J. Bucher. OCLC 1087150394.
  • Porter, Allan; Museum of Modern Art (New York N.Y.) (1974). Choice: 'Museum without walls'. Lucerne: B.J. Bucher. OCLC 82058738.
  • Porter, Allan; Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto) (1978). Nightlife: photographs. OCLC 501451028.
  • Porter, Allan; Sallenave, Danièle (1979). Josef Koudelka, a monograph (in German). Luzern: C.J. Bucher. OCLC 80644322.
  • National Portrait Gallery (Great Britain); Porter, Allan (1979). People in Camera, 1839–1914. National Portrait Gallery.
  • Porter, Allan; Strömholm, Christer (1980). Christer Strömholm: indelible images. Luzern, Switzerland: C.J. Bucher. OCLC 78864413.
  • Porter, Allan; Jutzi, Alan; Photography Museum (Los Angeles Calif.) (1981). Los Angeles documentary project 1981. Luzern, Switzerland: C.J. Bucher] : [Printed through the courtesy of Camera. OCLC 7806163.
  • Porter, Allan; Fondation suisse pour la photographie (1981). Stiftung für die Photographie Schweiz: 10 Jahre = Fondation pour la photographie Suisse : 10 années = Fondazione della fotografia Svizzera : 10 anni = Foundation for photography Switzerland : 10 years (in French). Luzern: C.J. Bucher. OCLC 718606837.
  • Centro de Estudos de Fotografia (Coimbra Portugal); Porter, Allan (1990). Mexico: an exhibition of photographs = Mexico : uma exposição de fotografias. OCLC 78655688.
  • Porter, Allan (1972a). Photography, 1839–1972: Camera, 1922–1972. Lucerne: Bucher. OCLC 638095196.
  • Porter, Allan (1972b). Photography, an iconographic, chronological history. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified. OCLC 22040941.
  • Porter, Allan (1975). A concise chronology of instant photography 1947–1974 (nineteen hundred and forty-seven to nineteen hundred and seventy-four). LUCERNE: BUCHER. OCLC 1075274761.
  • Open Photography; Porter, Allan; Arnatt, Keith; Midland Group (Nottingham England), eds. (1976). Open photography: exhibition of work selected by Allan Porter and Keith Arnatt : 8 May – 5 June 1976. Nottingham: Midland Group Gallery. OCLC 913259066.
  • Porter, Allan (1978a). Autoportrait (in German).
  • Porter, Allan (1978b). Exploration of a medium, Exploration eines Medium. Amsterdam: International Polaroid Collection. OCLC 63470056.
  • Porter, Allan; Meier, Marco (2002). Polaroid. Eine Episode (in German). Zürich: Tamedia AG. ISBN 9783908515661. OCLC 76361905.
  • Porter, Allan (1986). Sowjet Photographie, 1919-1939 (in German). U. Bär. ISBN 9783905137057.

Journal references

  • Porter, Allan (1973). "The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis, printed directly from original photogravures, 1903–1925". Camera. 52 (12). OCLC 84693130.
  • Porter, Allan (1973). "Art Kane". Graphis / Walter Herdeg, Ed.: 374–387. ISSN 0017-3452. OCLC 888401832.
  • Porter, Allan (1976). "Sarah Moon". Graphis / Walter Herdeg, Ed.: 448–461. ISSN 0017-3452. OCLC 888401825.
  • Porter, Allan (1972). "Photographis '71: international advertising photography". Graphis / Walter Herdeg, Ed.: 60–77. ISSN 0017-3452. OCLC 888401833.

News references

Web references

External links

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