Fogelson, Doug

Long invested in the history and making of photographic abstraction, this series pays tribute to Chicago’s Institute of Design (now known as the Illinois Institute of Technology), which was established in 1937 and produced some of the earliest innovators in the field of photography. Working in the school’s original darkroom in the basement of the Mies van der Rohe designed Crown Hall building, these prints are the last works ever created in the darkroom before it was removed in 2013. Doug Fogelson produces photograms using vinyl records, plastic geometric forms, and architectural models, which he finds in the dumpster after having been discarded by IIT students. Through a retro color palette, Fogelson channels how Chicago’s history of photography and design are indebted to the legacy of the Institute of Design.

Doug Fogelson studied at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (Class of ‘94) and Columbia College Chicago. His works have been exhibited globally, and in addition to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, are held in collections such as the J. Paul Getty Center, Los Angeles; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; and the Staatliche Museum für Fotografie, Berlin.