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TRANSCRIPT: ADGER COWANS INTERVIEW

A CHOICE OF WEAPONS: INSPIRED BY GORDON PARKS

 

Self-portrait of Adger Cowans. 1975.

Self-portrait of Adger Cowans. 1975.

Adger Cowans, a fine arts photographer and abstract expressionist painter, has experimented with a myriad of mediums over his artistic career. Renowned in the world of photography and fine art, his works have been shown by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, International Museum of Photography, Museum of Modern Art, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Harvard Fine Art Museum, Detroit Art Institute, James E. Lewis Museum and numerous other art institutions. Adger Cowans was one of the first African American students to earn a degree in Photography from Ohio University in 1958, and furthered his education at the School of Motion Picture Arts and School of Visual Arts in New York City. Following graduation, Cowans obtained a position assisting photographer Gordon Parks at Life magazine. Cowans later served in the United States Navy in Virginia Beach, VA and continued to work as a photographer. Cowans also has a storied career in cinema as a film still photographer on over thirty Hollywood sets, and worked with directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, and Spike Lee.

"The artist's responsibility is to keep the temple (body, mind, and spirit) clear, clean and open by being aware and by keeping watch over what enters mentally and physically." Adger Cowans

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