Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) featured SCAD Atlanta’s Associate Chair of Photography Michael James O’Brien in a talk at SCADshow Oct. 18..
O’Brien, whose work spans more than 20 years, has been published in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Interview, Travel + Leisure and more.
O’Brien provided a visual representation of his journey so far and spoke about his early days in college as an english and political science major with a keen interest in writing and journalism. The presentation included photos from his time in grad school at Yale, where he studied under the great Walker Evans. He also mentioned his all-time favorite singer and inspiration, David Bowie, whose work encouraged him to take risks and be bold along with his experiments and phases with black and white photography. O’Brien also discussed the importance of self-initiated projects and how to collaborate with fellow creatives.
The format of the talk was engaging as students and guests asked questions towards the end, discussing their own doubts and desires.
Hannah Jo, a third-year photography major, who attended the talk said O’Brien had a great collection of images that spoke volumes about his style and interest. “It is so inspiring to see someone with such a variety of work heading our department,” said Jo.
Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP) is a non-profit organization which hosts an annual, city-wide photography festival in the month of October, dedicated to celebrating Atlanta’s rich art community.
For more information on ACP events, visit their website.
For more of O’Brien’s work, click here.