{"id":29629,"date":"2021-07-21T12:20:44","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T17:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=29629"},"modified":"2021-07-21T12:20:44","modified_gmt":"2021-07-21T17:20:44","slug":"how-an-iconic-photographers-images-became-a-part-of-austin-peay-state-universitys-art-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2021\/07\/21\/how-an-iconic-photographers-images-became-a-part-of-austin-peay-state-universitys-art-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"How an iconic photographer\u2019s images became a part of Austin Peay State University\u2019s Art Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Shortly after the spring semester ended, The New Gallery Director Michael Dickins and the Austin Peay State University (APSU) inaugural Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellow Katie Boyer began cataloging and preserving pieces in the University\u2019s art collection.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A photo taken by fashion, celebrity, and art photographer Albert Watson was recently found in Austin Peay State University\u2019s art collection. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Early on, they dug deep into a stack of flat files and found a 1-inch-deep box that carried a curious label.<\/p>\n

At the top of the label, an orange script read, \u201cWatson.\u201d Below that, scrawled handwriting called attention to Jim Robertson at the Fifth Avenue Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. At the bottom of the label, neat print listed the return address: Albert Watson Photography Inc., New York City.<\/p>\n

And below the label, printed handwriting announced the title of the collected works in the box: \u201cRodeo in STYLE.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside the box, 18 photos \u2013 in sharp black and white detail \u2013 captured a rodeo during a sun-splashed day in 1978 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.<\/p>\n

In one of the photos, a Native American man sits astride a horse. Feathers and leather straps festoon his head and shoulders. Large sunglasses add a smooth surface to his sun-aged face. Wrinkles crease his forehead and cheeks.<\/p>\n

\"Katie<\/a>

Katie Boyer with some of the photos she\u2019s working with this summer. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

The photos also reveal a master \u2013 iconic fashion, celebrity and art photographer Albert Watson<\/a> \u2013 at work. Watson\u2019s work has appeared on more than 100 covers of Vogue and 40 covers of Rolling Stone. His most famous photos are the iconic hand-to-chin image of Steve Jobs<\/a> and the photo of Alfred Hitchcock holding a plucked goose<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rodeo photos also represent the journey from the photographer\u2019s camera to Dickins and Boyer\u2019s discovery, finding them 43 years later hidden away in a flat-file box at Austin Peay State University.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[470center]<\/p>\n

\u2018I can recognize my Mother\u2019s Handwriting\u2019<\/h3>\n

Part of Dickins and Boyer\u2019s work this summer involves framing more than 125 of Austin Peay State University\u2019s most recently acquired pieces for an August 18th exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we started pulling the pieces that we wanted to frame for the show, and we started finding all this other work that we found in the flat files,\u201d Dickins said. \u201cWe found this box under a bunch of other flat boxes, essentially pushed in the back.<\/p>\n

\"Boyer<\/a>

Boyer catalogs some of Austin Peay State University\u2019s collection, including a Watson rodeo piece ready to be photographed. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe opened it up, and there are 18 of these gorgeous unsigned photographs,\u201d he added. \u201cOur first reaction was, \u2018Wow! What is this that we have?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As the photographs are unsigned, Dickins and Boyer went online to research the only clue they had \u2013 the Albert Watson address label on the box. They found the studio still in business in New York and an active website, www.albertwatson.net<\/a>. They searched for the photos on the website and didn\u2019t find them.<\/p>\n

They then performed a reverse image search on Google and found one of the rodeo pictures attributed to Albert Watson. They went back to the website and dug deeper through an archive of photos through the decades.<\/p>\n

[320left]\u201cWe\u2019re just skipping, skipping, skipping and bam! One of the images we had showed up,\u201d Dickins said. \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018This is the guy. Holy crap!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Dickins and Boyer contacted the studio and exchanged some emails with staff members there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat afternoon, we got an email from Albert Watson\u2019s son and he said, \u2018These are definitely Albert Watson\u2019s photos, I can recognize my mother\u2019s handwriting on the box,\u2019\u201d Dickins recalled.<\/p>\n

Aaron Watson also confirmed that the photos were original prints hand-developed by the famous photographer in 1978.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m still baffled by the discoveries the collection provides us\u2019<\/h3>\n

The photos came to Austin Peay State University through the Robertson Collection, more than 300 photos donated to the University by Jim and Nan Robertson. The Robertsons gathered the photos during the 1970s and \u201980s when Nan studied art in Arizona and Jim owned the Fifth Avenue Gallery of Photography in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Robertsons had connections with such distinguished artists as Bill Brandt, Bruce Barnbaum, Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernhard, and Andr\u00e9 Kertesz.<\/p>\n

The Watson photos that Dickins and Boyer found were supposed to go back to Albert Watson in the 1980s, Dickson said, but \u201cduring the fog of the 1980s\u201d and Watson\u2019s prolific work and travel schedule, the photos never made it back to New York.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This image shows the box that Dickins and Boyer found while working with Austin Peay State University\u2019s collection. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

Watson\u2019s son, Aaron, offered to donate the photos to Austin Peay State University\u2019s collection, and Dickins and Boyer sent to Aaron Watson high-resolution photos of the prints, which the studio started posting to Albert Watson\u2019s Instagram page (see the rodeo photos at www.instagram.com\/albertwatsonphotography<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s interesting that we have 18 of his photos, but they aren\u2019t his typical work,\u201d Boyer said. \u201cThese aren\u2019t photos that everybody has seen. I think he included some of them in his first book, \u2018Cyclops,\u2019 but other than that, these are photographs that people haven\u2019t seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can see some of the Watson photos in Austin Peay State University\u2019s collection at the end of the 1970s collection on Watson’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[470center]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also get a chance to see some of the photos August 18th-September 10th during The New Gallery\u2019s first exhibition of the fall, \u201cRecent Acquisitions.\u201d The exhibit will feature more than 125 pieces recently added to Austin Peay State University\u2019s art collection. The reception for \u201cRecent Acquisitions\u201d will be 5:3pm0-7:30pm September 2nd at The New Gallery during Clarksville\u2019s First Thursday Art Crawl.<\/p>\n

Dickins credits the Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellowship \u2013 which is supported by a recent endowment from Mark and Martha Em Raby<\/a> and a matching amount from Austin Peay State University\u2019s Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts \u2013 for allowing Boyer to help him with the collection this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working with the collection for seven years now, and I\u2019m still baffled by the discoveries it provides us,\u201d Dickins said. \u201cThis fellowship has allowed for the extra personnel and focus that is often not afforded to us during the busy-ness of the semester.\u201d<\/p>\n

To Learn More<\/h3>\n

For more information about studying art and design at Austin Peay, visit www.apsu.edu\/art-design<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more about The New Gallery\u2019s upcoming exhibits, visit www.apsu.edu\/art-design\/thenewgallery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Endowments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Endowments are permanently restricted funds managed by the Austin Peay State University Foundation. The amount of each scholarship award may vary and will be determined based upon the value of the endowment and the Foundation spending plan.<\/p>\n

To support APSU fundraising initiatives, contact the Office of University Advancement at 931.221.7127.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clarksville, TN – Shortly after the spring semester ended, The New Gallery Director Michael Dickins and the Austin Peay State University (APSU) inaugural Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellow Katie Boyer began cataloging and preserving pieces in the University\u2019s art collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[23,589,31030,262,512,825,23700],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xGYI-7HT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29629"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29630,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29629\/revisions\/29630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}