Michael Richard (1948 – August 28, 2006) was an American professional rock musician and amateur photographer. In 2002, surgery to remove a malignant tumor behind his right eye left him legally blind, and he began taking abstract photos of urban scenes. Those images have been exhibited at galleries in
San Francisco and
Los Angeles.
Music career
Richard was born in
Brooklyn, New York and studied music at
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. After graduation, he moved to
California.
He played guitar for advertising jingles and television show soundtracks. He also played backup guitar for
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
and
The Coasters.
Photography
Following surgery to remove the tumor behind his eye, Richard could see only gauzy shapes. In a 2003 interview, he said they were "like the most extreme soft-focus photos you can imagine."
Richard had been an amateur photographer prior to the surgery but expected to have to give up that hobby after losing most of his vision. While learning to use a cane at the
Braille Institute of Los Angeles, Richard heard about a photography class at the institute. The class, taught by a professional magazine photographer, offered the visually impaired tips on the model of camera to use and suggestions on film developing.
Richard obtained a manual
camera and used a magnifying glass to adjust the settings. His wife, Patrice Hughes, drove him to locations around Los Angeles. Richard used black-and-white film to transform buildings and street vistas into abstract forms.
Richard developed the prints himself and began exhibiting the photos at optometry schools, centers for the blind, and art museums.
His work was included in "Blind at the Museum," a show about blindness and the visual arts, in 2005 at
Berkeley Art Museum and
Pacific Film Archive
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...
.
Richard's photos have also been shown at the Los Angeles gallery
LA Artcore and at two major art fairs,
Photo LA and
Photo San Francisco.
References
Rourke, Mary. (2006, September 17). ''Michael Richard, 58; Blind Photographer Found Abstract Forms in Urban Areas''. The Los Angeles Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Michael
20th-century American photographers
1948 births
2006 deaths
Deaths from cancer in California