BLIND faith.AIDS has dimmed his eyesight, but photographer John Dugdale John Dugdale may refer to:
The year 1993 was bad for John Dugdale. That was the year Dugdale, already a successful commercial photographer, had an AIDS-related stroke that paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. him from the neck down and destroyed most of his eyesight. After seven months in the hospital, Dugdale taught himself to walk again and figured out how to use his changed sight to make art. "I had lots of work to do," he says of his unexpected recovery. "I didn't want to leave my family. I must have felt deep down that I hadn't achieved what is most important in my life." Dugdale's photographs are the subject of a spectacular new book published by 21st: The Journal of Contemporary Photography. "We're really happy that John wanted to work with us," says Lance Speer, co-owner and contributing editor A contributing editor is a magazine job title that varies in responsibilities. Most often, a contributing editor is a freelancer who has proven ability and readership draw. of the publishing house. "His work is so potent and visionary." The third volume in the company's line of almost unbelievably opulent op·u·lent adj. 1. Possessing or exhibiting great wealth; affluent. 2. Characterized by rich abundance; luxuriant. [Latin opulentus; see op- in Indo-European roots. art books, John Dugdale: The Clandestine Mind comes in three versions--ranging from the trade edition, which starts at $150, to the museum edition, which starts at $6,500--and showcases hundred-year-old printing processes and delicately designed pages of photos and texts. These intricate processes are a perfect match for Dugdale's photographs, which are dreamy dream·y adj. dream·i·er, dream·i·est 1. Resembling a dream; ethereal or vague. 2. Given to daydreams or reverie. 3. Soothing and serene. 4. visions of nudes and still lifes, all seen through a melancholy hazy blue, a product of the 19th-century cyanotype cyanotype: see blueprint. process. "I've always been drawn to the nonindustrial past," remarks Dugdale, now 40. "If I had my way, I'd go back to 1840. It shows in my photography. It's a way for me to time-travel." Dugdale's sight change played right into his anachronistic a·nach·ro·nism n. 1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in other than chronological, proper, or historical order. 2. fantasies. "I couldn't see through the cameras I had, so I had to use a large-format camera from the 1800s," he explains. "It was something that I could manage on my own." Dugdale, who divides his time between a small studio in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and an old-fashioned farmhouse upstate, admits that his obsession with the past is almost spooky. "When I go to an antique store with my boyfriend, he'll accuse me of being able to spot a 19th-century dime on the floor in the corner," jokes Dugdale. "But walking out of the store, I'll walk into a wall." Despite his nearly complete loss of sight, Dugdale says he wouldn't trade his experiences, good or bad. "I'm happier now than I've ever been," muses the artist. "When I was 33 and losing my life, 40 was my short-term goal. Now I've got to set a new one." Find more on John Dugdale and 21st: The Journal of Contemporary Photography at www.advocate.com Gaines, a journalist and playwright, writes for Artext and The Big Issue. |
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