John T. Hill

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John T. Hill
NewHaven 0514 0089 crop.jpg
Born1934
NationalityAmerican
Education

John T. Hill (born 1934) is an American artist. His work focuses mainly on design and photography.

Contents

Education

As an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, Hill studied painting, design, and photography, earning a BFA in design in 1955, and an MFA in painting in 1956. After a tour of infantry duty he continued graduate studies in design and photography at the Yale School of Art and Architecture.

Teaching

On graduating, he was invited to join the Yale faculty, where he taught both graphic design and photography. His faculty colleagues from the 1960s and 70s included Alvin Eisenman, Walker Evans, Herbert Matter, Norman Ives, Bradbury Thompson, and Paul Rand.

When Yale's Graphic Design Department was established in 1951 photography was seen as an integral part of the curriculum . Twenty years later, with photography's increased presence in the arts, Eisenman and Hill founded Yale's first Department of Photography, making it independent from its parent, Graphic Design.

Hill served as the department's first Director of Graduate Studies in Photography from 1971 to 1978.

Professional work

In more than twenty years of teaching, Hill continued to work as a photographer, taking pictures for numerous books, magazines, and corporate publications. As a designer, his work is diverse, ranging from US postage stamp design to exhibition installations. Within the last ten years[ when? ] he has focused primarily on books and exhibition designs, as well as writing.

Executor of Walker Evans' estate

Three years before his death, Walker Evans asked Hill to serve as executor of his estate. On Evans' death in 1975, Hill took as a goal the expanded reading of Evans' work. The most common perception was, at best, a bathetic record of the Great Depression in the rural South. For Hill and many others, Evans' work rose high above that limited appraisal to be examined as a more universal statement surpassing the specifics of that time and place. As executor, Hill produced four books for the Evans estate. Others followed, all with that same purpose.[ citation needed ]

During and after his 19-year tenure as Evans' executor, Hill created many exhibitions of gelatin silver prints made from Evans' negatives. Within the last ten years,[ when? ] Hill has used the digital techniques of scanning, file adjustment, and digital printing to interpret Evans' images. [1] These digital tools allow maintaining detailed information in both dark and light passages, in a manner not possible with gelatin silver printing. Hill has used these digital files to produce prints, exhibitions, and books that extend the appreciation of Evans' intricate and multi-layered work. These exhibitions have been shown in museums and galleries in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Korea, New York City, and numerous other American institutions.

With Hill's help, the Evans archive was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art [2] in 1994. There it has received appreciation for its intrinsic value as the work of one of America's seminal artists. Proper conservation and cataloging can only be realized by an institution with such perception, size, and depth. The major portion of that archive is now available for study online.

Writings and Publications

Hill has also produced books presenting the work of wide-ranging talents, including Walker Evans, W. Eugene Smith, Edward Weston, Erwin Hauer, and Peter Sekaer.

In 2013 Hill designed the book Calder by Matter [3] for Cahiers d'Art. It is Herbert Matter's intimate account of Calder's work and his family life for over thirty years.

Books related to Walker Evans produced by J. Hill:

Books designed, edited, authored, co-authored, or produced by Hill

Exhibitions Produced By Hill

Exhibitions of work by Hill

Museum collections

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References

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  2. Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. "Cahiers d'Art | Shop – Monographs – Calder by Matter, Standard Edition, 2012". www.cahiersdart.com.
  4. Boxer, Sarah (1998-08-07). "PHOTOGRAPHY REVIEW; 3 Degrees of Separation on the Road to Art". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  5. Grundberg, Andy (1993-12-05). "Photography". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  6. Fernandez, Chantal (2010-02-23). "Designer's life and works explored". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  7. "Hartford, Connecticut Breaking News, Sports & Entertainment". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2023-02-05.
  8. Home / Connecticut / Avoiding Armageddon: How the 1970 Riots in New Haven Never Happened Avoiding Armageddon: How the 1970 Riots in New Haven Never Happened http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/avoiding-armageddon-how-the-1970-riots-in-new-haven-never-happened/
  9. "The Exacting Eye of Walker Evans". Florence Griswold Museum. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  10. http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2013/04/29/photographer-walker-evanss-havana-1933-collection-at-laguardia-community-college [ dead link ]
  11. "[Exhibition poster for Four Directions in Modern Photography, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut]". International Center of Photography. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  12. "'Bulldog and Panther' exhibition explores legacy of May Day rally". YaleNews. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  13. "Closing Reception: John T. Hill: Persistent Observer". institutelibrary.org. Retrieved 2022-02-01.