Ralph Gibson

Born in Los Angeles, California in early 1939, Ralph Gibson found his calling to become a photographer while he was serving in the U.S. Navy. After studying photography with the Navy he attended the San Francisco Art Institute and then was the assistant to documentary photographer Dorothea Lange. After a five-year foray into photojournalism, Gibson turned to artistic photography. He spent a year as an assistant to Robert Frank and in 1968 he began his solo career.
Gibson quickly gained reputation as a photographer in his own right. Realizing he had an audience for his work after his book Somnambulist was published in 1970, he is quoted as saying, "When I was about thirty I realized that the only thing that recognition would do for you is give you energy to produce more." In subsequent years, Ralph's photographs became more acclaimed and his success grew.
Gibson's photographs are a departure from the works he did as a photojournalist. Instead of using his camera to capture a historically important or aesthetically beautiful scene, Gibson shoots to make simple things important and beautiful. On his style Ralph commented, "I'm not terribly drawn towards the epic event. I'd like to make something totally insignificant into an object of importance." This desire for capturing simple beauty is coupled with a deep respect for his materials, and the resulting works are beautiful and moving. The picture Gibson considers his most iconic is the photo he took in 1975 of a priest's collar. A simple image, the entire lower half of the picture is black and yet the frame contains Gibson's geometry, and has a defined structure. The way that the priest's jaw is captured and the way the shadow is cast tell a story.