Arnold Doren

Arnold Doren

Photo of Arnold Doren taken in 2003
by Jason Michael Kinsey
Born (1935-07-29)July 29, 1935
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Nationality American
Known for Photography

Arnold Doren (1935–2003) was an American photographer.[1]

Youth

Arnold Doren, known as Doren, was born in Chicago, July 29, 1935, to Hy and Rose Dorenfeld.[2] An encounter with a Graflex camera while working on a high school newspaper led to a dedicated life in photography.[2] After joining the Navy in 1952, he was stationed at San Diego, CA and worked as a submariner running missions to Acapulco. News with Views was the name of the Navy newsletter which published his photographs.[2]

Education

A turning point occurred when he enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology in 1957 where his philosophy and purpose in life were clarified by Minor White, one of the legendary professors.[3] It was the deeply spiritual nature of Minor White along with his knowledge of poetry and Eastern philosophy that affected Doren.[3] Minor put an emphasis on feeling as a way of knowing and realizing a multitude of meanings.[4] A quote by Peter Layton describes Minor's teaching. " He created an atmosphere for constantly questioning ideas or responses."[4] With discipline, practice and sincerity, the students of Minor White often achieved a visual, sensual and personal awareness. It was under Minor's influence that Doren began to photograph Americana Faces which was a documentation of the land and its people from 1960-2003.[5] He photographed throughout the USA and returned frequently to the southwest. While working on the Americana Faces, he produced series on Italy, Greece, Scotland and China.[6] Related to Doren's traditional photographs were the experimental works inspired by Minor White and by another influential teacher, Ralph Hattersley.[7]

NYC 1960-1978

During Doren's NYC years, he worked as a commercial photographer for Alan Vogel, Irving Penn and Irvin Blumenthal[8] while living in a one-room apartment and frequenting jazz clubs, poetry readings and art openings.[9] Doren wrote extensively about his years in NYC with and without his first wife, Elizabeth Knox, a painter.[9] He committed to several personal projects such as photographing the same NYC street for one hour per day for several years.[9] The NYC street project was partly inspired by his neighbor, Berenice Abbott.[10] Doren's series on the Woodstock Festival resulted in his well known photograph of Jimi Hendrix.[11]

1978-2003

After accepting a teaching position in 1978 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Doren helped to shape the growing respect for photography as art.[12] He educated thousands of students, participated in numerous exhibitions, operated a photography gallery and gained national and international recognition for his work.[13] Often he introduced himself on the first day of class with My name is Doren and photography is my life.[14] Doren's second wife, Caroline Cornish, 1924–2008,[15] was a noted photographer[16] who possessed organizational skills that provided stability for both of them while allowing Doren extra freedom to pursue a fine arts career.

Publications

Selected collections

References

  1. ↑ Who's Who in American Art, 1989-90, R. R. Bowker, New York, 1990
  2. 1 2 3 DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn, "A Legacy on Film, Arnold Doren 1935-2003", News and Record, Greensboro, NC, September 26, 2003 page D1
  3. 1 2 Pettit, Robert F., "His Photos Images of Peace", News and Record, Greensboro, NC March 18, 1979, page G 7
  4. 1 2 "Minor White, A Living Remembrance", by the editors of Aperture, Silver Mountain Foundation, Millerton, NY, 1984, ISBN 0-89381-138-6, see page 71
  5. ↑ Pettit, Robert F., "His Photos Images of Peace", News and Record, Greensboro, NC, March 18, 1979, page G7
  6. ↑ Arnold Doren Archive, Special Collections, Walter Jackson Library, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
  7. ↑ Hattersley, Ralph, "Discover Yourself Through Photography", Morgan and Morgan Inc., October 1979. ISBN 978-0-87100-099-6
  8. ↑ Biographical Files (Vertical files) on faculty, University Archives, Walter Jackson Library, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
  9. 1 2 3 Arnold Doren Archive, Special Collections, Walter Jackson Library, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, NC
  10. ↑ Arnold Doren Archive - in the letters there is mention of correspondence with Berenice Abbott and record of a purchase made of a Eugene Atget print from Abbott
  11. ↑ DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn, "A Legacy on Film Arnold Doren 1935-2003, News and Record, Greensboro, NC, September 26, 2003
  12. ↑ Coraddi, UNCG's magazine for the arts, inaugural issue of 1978, Article on Arnold Doren, archived in University Archives, UNCG, Greensboro, NC
  13. ↑ Biographical files on faculty, University Archives, Walter Jackson Library, UNCG, Greensboro, NC
  14. ↑ DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn, "A Legacy on Film, Arnold Doren 1935-2003" news and Record, Greensboro, NC, September 26, 2003, page D 1
  15. ↑ "Caroline Laws Cornish", News and Record, Greensboro, NC, April 17, 2008, page B 4
  16. ↑ "Blue Pitcher" Southern issue, summer 1987, Editors Steven Lautermilch, Sarah Lindsay, Jeffrey Miles, Greensboro, NC, ISSN 0886-4187, "Caroline Cornish" feature artist, pages 32-40

External links

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