Allan Sekula

Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was an American photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist and critic. From 1985 until his death, he taught at the California Institute of the Arts. His works focused on the theory and history of photography, studies of family life in the grip of the military-industrial complex, and in Fish Story, on explorations of the global maritime economy.

His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Seattle’s Henry Art Gallery; the University Art Museum at Berkeley; Witte de With, Rotterdam; the Moderna Museet, Stockholm; the Munich Kunstverein; and the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels. He was included in numerous group shows including the 1993 Whitney Biennial in New York; and Documenta11 (2002) and documenta 12 (2007), in Kassel, Germany. He was granted fellowships by the Guggenheim Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Getty Research Institute; the Deutsche Akademischer Austauschdienst; and the Atelier Calder.

Sekula published several books, including Fish Story (2003); Performance under Working Conditions (2003); Geography Lesson: Canadian Notes (1997); Dismal Science: Photoworks1972-1996 (1999) and Photography against the Grain: Essays and Photo Works 1973-83 (1984).