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Individual Artist

James Friedman, photographer, Columbus

Nominated By: Dr. J. Ronald Green

Ohio native James Friedman is known as one of the most sophisticated, talented and uncompromising photographic artists working in the United States. He became fascinated with photography at just five years old and has been photographing ever since, enjoying a wide-ranging career as a teacher, curator, picture editor and as a fine art, portrait, architectural, commercial and personal documentary photographer.

Friedman received a BFA with distinction in photography from The Ohio State University, an MA in photography from San Francisco State University, and was one of five students accepted into an experimental graduate program in photography at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, he has created series after series of influential, compelling photographs, including "Self-Portrait with Jewish Nose Wandering in a Gentile World" and "12 Nazi Concentration Camps," an exhibition that traveled across the U.S. and Canada for 10 years and was written about extensively.

For his amazing work, Friedman was selected from 800 international applicants to receive one of the most prestigious photography awards, an Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographers' Fellowship. He also has received seven Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards and two Greater Columbus Arts Council Fellowships. His work has appeared in numerous books and has been discussed in the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle and The New York Times.

In addition to his work as an individual artist, Friedman also has played a role in educating many of today's most promising photographers. He previously served as an assistant professor in the department of photography and cinema at The Ohio State University. The former chair of that department says Friedman's teaching style "was a life-changing experience for many young artists and an inspiration for his colleagues." Today, he independently offers workshops, classes and mentoring opportunities. In 2008, he was nominated for the prestigious Excellence in Photographic Teaching Award, which recognizes outstanding international teachers of photography.

In the summer of 2012, a major retrospective of his work will take place in several locations throughout Ohio, including exhibitions at the OSU Urban Art Space in downtown Columbus and at the Richard M. Ross Art Museum at Ohio Wesleyan University.

James Friedman video tribute (6:23 minutes)