The Silence of Don Donaghy
This photographer I came across in my searches is relatively unknown, however, he is included in Jane Livingstons book The New York School: Photographs 1936-1963. In the book, Livingston regards Donaghy's photographs as "among the most beautiful in the history of American photography." Others such as Mark Power would call his photographs some of the most compelling ever recorded, that Donaghy's spiritual brothers were "obviously" Atget, and Cartier-Bresson. And yet, Donaghy was famously silent, undoubtedly because he only spent one decade being productive in the genre of street photography. The rest of his days were spent in Boulder, Colorado, actually, experimenting in film and sculpture. He would return to photography later in his life, however, those images were of a different caliper. Why only a decade, why such a departure, his silence is compelling to me most of all. His photo's are that of a silent observer, taking inventory of the surroundings and creating poetry of a decade which will always live in infamy. His only recorded statement about his work I must include, it speaks for itself.
After completion of a four year major in commercial art at the "prestigious" Philadelphia Museum School of Art, one might assume that I would seek employment in this field. However, I found myself driven to wander the streets of Philly, searching for images in order to learn to use my camera. An afternoon job delivering flowers to hospitals and funeral homes left my mornings free for taking photos and my evenings for developing films in the clothes closet.
I kept my photography as a very personal and pure pursuit of art throughout my remaining years in Philadelphia and in New York City. I compiled a huge portfolio during these years and though my work was included in museum collections, numerous shows and magazine publications, I found myself disillusioned, exhausted and unable to continue.
I defensively decided that photography must be a limited medium in which i had accomplished all that could be done. To seal this theory, my camera and all my equipment were stolen!
Go. Look him up, be inspired, take black and white photos.
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