Chicago photographer Susan Carr specializes in the photography of objects and places. Susan’s work is exhibited widely in museums and galleries throughout the country, including the Thomas Werner Gallery in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. Her photographs are included in corporate and private collections, most notably the Pfizer Corporation and the Museum of Contemporary Photography.

In addition to exhibiting her photographs, Susan is a frequent visiting artist and lecturer. She has been a guest artist at the University of Michigan and the Center for Creative Studies, conducted portfolio reviews for the Society for Photographic Education’s National Conference, and served as a juror for the Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Grants.

As a professional photographer serving clients throughout the Midwest, her commercial imagery shows the same attention to detail and lighting as her personal work. Most commercial assignments are completed using a digital camera and adhere to the Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines, professional standards supported by leading industry associations. Clients enjoy creative photographs and exceptional customer service when working with her on assignments. If you are interested in discussing a project, please call or email.

Susan has been an extremely active volunteer for the American Society of Media Photographers. The ASMP is the largest trade association representing the interests of publication photographers. The ASMP, founded in 1944, provides information, education and advocacy to independent working photographers. Susan served as the ASMP President from 2004-2006 and was only the third woman in the society’s sixty-year history to hold that post. Susan wrote a series of articles during her presidency covering current issues in the professional photography industry. From the impact of digital to the need to diversify, these articles are relevant to photographers and art buyers alike. Six of these essays are featured on this site.

Artist Statement

The principle concern of my work is the visual evidence of human history resonating from places and objects. The cities, buildings, gardens and homes we build and inhabit are living documents. They are static and fluid revealing both our past and our present. I strive for a coalescence of time and place yielding visual poems that deliver a vivid sense of experience.

Three bodies of work are highlighted in the art section of this site.

Intimate Landscapes is a body of work produced between 1994 and 2000. The photographs were made in a variety of places including Michigan, Chicago, Savannah, Georgia and Athens, Greece. My interest was in photographing parks and older neighborhoods where I could find visual vignettes that revealed the complex harmonies of past and present.

Personal Spaces: Details of American Homes is an ongoing project where I am photographing the homes of people who have lived in the same place for at least forty years. Started in 2000, I have photographed over thirty-five homes, from New York City to San Antonio, Texas. This project has become an exploration of the personal and unique in the midst of our increasingly homogenized culture.

Wells Street Independent: Grassroots Retail in Ft. Wayne, Indiana is a new project I am undertaking with writer, Michelle Niemann. My photographs and Ms. Niemann’s narrative essays will combine to create a nuanced portrait of small businesses in a post-industrial American city.

Susan Carr

7363 N. Damen Ave. Suite 104, Chicago, IL 60645  773.262.1582

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