Page 61 - Arts Management Magazine Future Issue

AMM FEATURED ARTIST

Mark Seliger

AMM Lifestyle Editor, Liza Jones, has a conversation with Mark Seliger.

Mark Seliger was born in Amarillo, Texas in 1959, where he lived with his parents, Maurice and
Carol Lee, and his two older brothers and younger sister, until 1964, when they moved to Houston.
He attended Houston’s High School for Performing & Visual Arts and, from there, went on to attend
East Texas State University, where his education began in earnest as he studied graphic art and pho-
tography. He moved to New York City in 1984.

In 1987, he began shooting for Rolling Stone. He was signed as their chief photographer in 1992.
During his time at Rolling Stone, Seliger shot over 125 covers and began a long-term collaborative
relationship with Design Director, Fred Woodward, which continued into their work with GQ. They
have co-directed numerous music videos for artists such as Hole, Lenny Kravitz, Gillian Welch and
Elvis Costello. In 2001, Seliger moved from Rolling Stone to Condé Nast. He shoots frequently for
Vanity Fair, Elle, GQ , Italian Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and German Vogue.

In 2011, he founded a non-profit exhibition space for photography called 401 Projects, which has
featured shows for James Nachtwey, Eugene Richards, Albert Watson and Platon, among others. He
also hosted the Emmy-nominated show “Capture” on YouTube’s Reserve Channel, which focuses on
candid conversations between established photographers such as Platon, Mary Ellen Mark, Martin
Schoeller, Bob Gruen, etc and celebrities who are interested in photography (Dylan McDermott,
Helena Christensen, Judd Apatow). Seliger continues his love of the darkroom by using the platinum
palladium process to create large-scale, 30”x40” prints, and his photographs have been exhibited in
museums and galleries.

He has published numerous books, including: Mark Seliger Photographs (Abrams, 2018), On
Christopher Street: Transgender Stories (Rizzoli, 2016), Listen (Rizzoli, 2010), Mark
Seliger: The Music Book (teNeues, 2008), In My Stairwell (Rizzoli, 2005), Lenny Kravitz/
Mark Seliger (Arena, 2001), Physiognomy (Bullfinch, 1999) and When They Came to
Take My Father – Voices from the Holocaust (Arcade, 1996).

Seliger is the recipient of such esteemed awards as: Alfred Eisenstaedt Award, Lucie Award, Clio
Grand Prix, Cannes Lions Grand Prix, ASME’s and most recently the 2019 Texas Medal of Arts
Award. His photographs are part of the permanent collection of the Houston Fine Art Museum, as
well as the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Left, Jennifer Lopez & Alex Rodriguez.

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