Nathan Lyons

Nathan Lyons

Nathan Lyons was a prominent American photographer, writer, and curator who played a pivotal role in the establishment of the field of visual studies. He was born in New York in 1930 and began his career as a photographer in the early 1950s. Lyons was known for his black and white photographs, which often depicted urban landscapes and the people who lived in them. He used a Kodak Brownie camera to capture his images, which gave them a raw and unpolished quality that was unique for the time. In addition to his photography, Nathan Lyons was also a prolific writer and curator. He wrote extensively on visual culture, producing books such as Photographs by Nathan Lyons and Seeing Beyond Flatness. He was also a curator and founded the Visual Studies Workshop, a center for photography and art education. Through his work as a curator, Lyons helped to promote the work of many other artists and photographers, including some who would go on to become major figures in the art world. One of the most significant contributions that Nathan Lyons made to the field of visual studies was his emphasis on the importance of context. He believed that photographs could not be fully understood without considering the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which they were created. This idea was revolutionary at the time, and it helped to pave the way for a more nuanced and critical approach to the study of photography. Nathan Lyons passed away in 2016 at the age of 86. His legacy lives on through his work as a photographer, writer, and curator, and through the many artists and photographers whose careers he helped to launch and promote.

Nathan Lyons, American, photographer, writer, curator, visual studies, black and white photography, Kodak Brownie, urban landscapes, context, Visual Studies Workshop, art education, social, cultural, historical, legacy

— Christopher Martin