Doug Rickard (May 27, 1968 – November 30, 2021) was an American artist and photographer.Critics are divided on whether to consider him an artist or a photographer. Rickard described himself as "an artist working with digital technologies". He used technologies such as Google Street View and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

to find images, which he then photographed on his computer monitor. His photography has been published in books, exhibited in galleries and held in the permanent collection of the

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. Rickard was best known for his book ''A New American Picture'' (2010). He was founder and publisher of the website on contemporary photography, ''American Suburb X,'' and the website ''These Americans'' which published some of his collection of found photographs.

Life and work

Rickard was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

and brought up in Los Gatos in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. His father was a prominent

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

and many family members were preachers and missionaries, with a "very Reaganesque, patriotic view of America", a country "special and unique". Rickard studied United States history—

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

—and sociology, at

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, and "lost his faith in this family vision. His adult view of America was a land not just of great achievement but also of massive injustice." At age 12 he witnessed his father having a secret extramarital affair, that years later in 1988 he confessed to his congregation. Rickard said this experience prompted him "to look for the fault lines in the American dream." He took the firm position that art did not need to be edifying, saying, "I don't think I'll be chasing any happy endings with the work I do." He lived in

Shingle Springs Shingle Springs (formerly, Shingle Spring and Shingle) is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. The population was 4,432 at the 2010 census, up from 2,643 at the 2000 census. It is located about from Sacra ...

, near

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, California. Rickard was founder and publisher of the website on contemporary photography ''American Suburb X,'' which the '' British Journal of Photography'' considers "influential"; and the website ''These Americans,'' which published some of his collection of found photographs. His most noteworthy books are ''A New American Picture'' (2010, 2012) and ''N.A.'' (2013, 2014).

''A New American Picture''

For his series ''A New American Picture,'' Rickard "wanted to look at the state of the country in these areas where opportunity is non-existent and where everything is broken down", where "the American dream was shattered or impossible to achieve". It is said that this work comments on United States politics, poverty, racial equality and the

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

climate,

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

; the use of technology in art,

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

, and the large quantity of images on the web. Rickard said ''A New American Picture'' was about America and not about Google Street View. He began work on ''A New American Picture'' in 2008, whilst working a day job in software sales at

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develo ...

. Rickard was at his computer nightly for over three years, taking 10,000 to 15,000 photographs, choosing about 80 for the series. He used a digital camera on a tripod to photograph a dedicated screen that mirrored a second screen that he used to navigate. He digitally manipulated the images to remove Google's watermark and crop extraneous information, resulting in a wide image from the wide screen computer monitor. He cited as influences the photobooks ''American Photographs'' (1938) by

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

, ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX (TV channel), FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg ...

'' (1958) by

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) by

Stephen Shore Stephen Shore (born October 8, 1947) is an American photographer known for his images of banal scenes and objects, and for his pioneering use of color in art photography. His books include ''Uncommon Places'' (1982) and ''American Surfaces'' (199 ...

and ''American Night'' (2003) by Paul Graham. The work was first exhibited as part of ''Anonymes: Unnamed American in Photography and Film,'' curated by

David Campany David Campany (born 8 October 1967) is a British writer, curator, artist and educator, working mainly with photography. He has written and edited books; contributed essays and reviews to other books, journals, magazines and websites; curated pho ...

and Diane Dufour at Le Bal, Paris, in 2010. To mark that occasion Rickard produced the first edition of the book, with the publisher White Press. Its first American museum show was at New York's

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in 2011. Parr and Badger include the book in the third volume of their photobook history.

''N.A.''

''N.A.'' is a body of work photographed from

videos, which he began working with in 2008 to 2009. The series portrays scenes of violence and crime in urban settings, often filmed on mobile devices. The title of the work is meant to be ''National Anthem'', but is a deliberate reference and double meaning for 'N/A' (Not Applicable) as appears on forms, to signify that he considers many of the people depicted in the series are marginalized. "I came to the understanding pretty quickly that social media and the internet put into place a real predatory dynamic, where basically it motivated people to take video of other people to put up on YouTube to get shares, likes or comments."

Death

Rickard died on November 30, 2021.

Publications

Books of work by Rickard

*''A New American Picture.'' **Cologne: White / Schaden, 2010. Edition of 200 copies. With text by Rickard and Helge Schlaghecke. Includes 69 photographs. **Larger format, expanded edition. New York:

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

; Berlin: Koenig, 2012. . With an introductory essay by

, "In the Frame", and a transcript of a conversation between Rickard and Erin O'Toole. Includes 79 photographs. *''Tom.'' Los Angeles: Little Big Man, 2013. Edition of 300 copies. *''All Eyes on me.'' One Picture Book 86. Portland, OR: Nazraeli, 2014. . Edition of 500 copies. *''Patriot Act.'' London: Wild Life, 2014. . *''N.A.'' **Cologne: White, 2013. Edition of 200 copies. **Dortmund: Kettler; New York: Distributed Art Publishers, 2014. English-language version, ; German-language version, . With a text by Zaha Redman and a poem by Ann Garlid.

Books with others

*''Aperture Remix.'' New York: Aperture, 2012. A series of books made in homage to another Aperture publication, each in an edition of 5 copies. Rickard's was a response to ''Uncommon Places'' by

. The other publications were by

Rinko Kawauchi Rinko Kawauchi Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (川内倫子, ''Kawauchi Rinko,'' born 1972) is a Japanese photographer. Her work is characterized by a serene, poetic style, depicting the ordinary moments in l ...

Vik Muniz Vik Muniz (; born 1961) is a Brazilian artist and photographer. Initially a sculptor, Muniz grew interested with the photographic representations of his work, eventually focusing completely on photography. Primarily working with unconventional ma ...

, Alec Soth, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs,

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

Viviane Sassen Viviane Sassen (born 1972) is a Dutch artist living in Amsterdam. She is a photographer who works in both the fashion and fine art world. She is known for her use of geometric shapes, often abstractions of bodies. She has been widely published an ...

Penelope Umbrico Penelope Umbrico (born January 31, 1957) is an American artist best known for her work that appropriates images found using search engines and picture sharing websites. Education and career Umbrico was born in Philadelphia in 1957. She gradu ...

and James Welling. Produced in conjunction with the exhibition ''Aperture Remix.'' *''A New American Picture''. Nazraeli Press Six by Six, set 4 v. 5. Portland, OR: Nazraeli, 2012. . Edition of 100 copies. The other volumes are by

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and Kerstin Adams,

Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...

Kenro Izu is a Japanese-born photographer based in the United States. Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, editor. . Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. He is the founder of children's charity Friends Without a Border, for which he has received two awards. He ha ...

Catherine Opie Catherine Sue Opie (born 1961) is an American fine-art photographer and educator. She lives and works in Los Angeles, as a professor of photography at University of California at Los Angeles. Opie studies the connections between mainstream and i ...

and Issei Suda. *''Staking Claim: a California Invitational.'' San Francisco: Modernbook, 2013. . With a foreword by Deborah Klochko and essays by Chantel Paul ("Garden State") and

Colin Westerbeck Colin Leslie Westerbeck Jr. is a curator, writer, and teacher of the history of photography. Before moving to Los Angeles, where he has taught at UCLA and University of Southern California, USC, he was curator of photography at the Art Institute ...

("All together now! Themes and Shared Concerns in Staking Claim: a California Invitational"). Photographs by Rickard as well as Matthew Brandt, Susan Burnstine, Eric William Carroll, John Chiara, Chris Engman, Robbert Flick,

Todd Hido Todd Hido (born 25 August 1968) is an American photographer. He has produced 17 books, had his work exhibited widely and included in various public collections. Hido is currently an adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts in San F ...

, Siri Kaur,

Mona Kuhn Mona Kuhn (born 1969 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a German-Brazilian contemporary photographer best known for her large-scale photographs of the human form and essence. An underlying current in Kuhn's work is her reflection on our longing for spirit ...

, Matt Lipps, David Maisel, Klea McKenna,

Mark Ruwedel Mark Ruwedel (born June 11, 1954) is an American landscape photographer and educator. His books include ''Westward the Course of Empire,'' depicting the remains of abandoned railway lines in the landscape of the western United States and Canada; a ...

, Paul Schiek and Christina Seely. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA. *''The World Atlas of Street Photography.'' New Haven and London:

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

: 2014, . Edited by Jackie Higgins. With a foreword by

Max Kozloff Max Kozloff (born 1933) is an American art historian, art critic of modern art and photographer. He has been art editor at ''The Nation'', and Executive Editor of ''Artforum''. His essay "American Painting During the Cold War" is of particular im ...

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*2012: Yossi Milo Gallery, New York, 2012

Exhibitions with others

*2010: ''Anonymes: L'Amérique sans nom: Photographie et Cinéma'' (Anonymous: Unnamed America in Photography and Film), Le Bal, Paris, 2010 A thematic exhibition with works by Rickard as well as

Jeff Wall Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he helped define the Van ...

, Chauncey Hare,

Lewis Baltz Lewis "Duke" Baltz (September 12, 1945 – November 22, 2014) was an American visual artist, photographer, and educator. He was an important figure in the New Topographics movement of the late 1970s.

, Standish Lawder,

Sharon Lockhart Sharon Lockhart (born 1964) is an American artist whose work considers social subjects primarily through motion film and still photography, often engaging with communities to create work as part of long-term projects. She received her BFA from th ...

, Anthony Hernandez, Arianna Arcara & Luca Santese, and Bruce Gilden. Curated by Diane Dufour and

. *2011/2012: ''New Photography 2011'',

, New York, 2011/12. Photographs by Rickard and

Moyra Davey Moyra Davey (born 1958) is an artist based in New York City. Davey works across photography, video, and writing. Early life Moyra Davey was born in 1958 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She grew up in Montreal, where she studied photography and r ...

George Georgiou George Georgiou (born 1961) is a freelance British photographer and photojournalist best known for his work in eastern Europe, particularly Turkey. Career in photography Born in London to Greek Cypriot parents, Georgiou graduated in photograph ...

, Deana Lawson,

and

Zhang Dali Zhang Dali (Chinese: 张大力, born 1963, in Harbin, China) is an artist based in Beijing. Zhang trained at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Design, where he graduated in 1987. After his studies, he moved to Yuanmingyuan as a freelance art ...

. *2012: ''Publicly Private: Enrico Natali and Doug Rickard,'' Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA, 2012. Enrico Natali's ''New York Subway 1960'' and Rickard's ''A New American Picture''. Curated by Karen Sinsheimer. *2012: ''Aperture Remix,''

Gallery, New York, 2012 Curated by Lesley A. Martin with work by Rickard as well as Rinko Kawauchi, Vik Muniz, Alec Soth, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, Martin Parr, Viviane Sassen, Penelope Umbrico and James Welling. Toured to

David Owsley Museum of Art Ball State University The David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA) is a university art museum located in the Fine Arts building on the campus of Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, the United States of America. The museum's name was changed on October 6, 2011, from the ...

, Muncie, IN, 2014; Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, 2014 *2013: ''Tim Hetherington and Doug Rickard,'' Stills Gallery, Sydney, 2013. Rickard's ''A New American Picture'' was shown alongside Tim Hetherington's ''Afghanistan''. *2013/14: ''Staking Claim: a California Invitational,'' Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, CA, 2013/14.

Collections

Rickard's work is held in the following permanent collections: *

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, commonly known as The Loeb, is a teaching museum, major art repository, and exhibition space on the campus of Vassar College, in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. It was founded in 1864 as the Vassar Colleg ...

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, Poughkeepsie, NY * Harry Ransom Center,

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, Austin, TX *

Museum of Contemporary Photography The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project ...

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

, IL *

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

, TX *

, New York * Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO *

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

, New York, NY *

, San Francisco, CA * Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

Notes

References

External links

*
''American Suburb X''''These Americans''Interview on GUP Magazine
("Likes Will Tear Us Apart: An Interview with Doug Rickard", ''GUP Magazine'', December 2, 2015) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Doug 1968 births 2021 deaths Street photographers Artists from San Jose, California Photographers from California