Encore

Franklin & Marshall’s online cultural calendar

Black River

November 6–December 11
Rothman Gallery
Phillips Museum of Art
www.fandm.edu/phillipsmuseum

Artist’s Reception and Gallery Talk: November 19, 4:30–6:30 p.m.

As a lifestyle editor in the ’70s, Coreen Simpson decided that taking her own photographs of the subjects she wrote about was preferable to using stock images or photos taken by staff photographers. In a short time her photographs were in demand and her professional career as a photographer began.

She has been on photo assignments around the world, covering luminaries such as Jesse Jackson, Muhammad Ali and Al Sharpton and contemporary music artists P. Diddy and Flava Flav. She also covered the Fashion Collections in Paris and New York, and her images have appeared in Vogue, Essence, Paris Match and The New York Times, among other publications.

The Simpson exhibit will feature photographs of people who live along the Hudson River and will run from Nov. 6 to Dec. 11.

Claire Giblin, acting curator of the Phillips Museum, hopes Simpson’s work will inspire Franklin & Marshall students to produce their own photography.

“Coreen has been an important photographer since the 1970s, and it will be good for students to see someone who has carved out their own career in the field,” Giblin says. “Students will identify with her as a contemporary because she crosses over the age barrier.”

Simpson attended Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The New School, Oberlin College, The Studio Museum of Harlem, International Center of Photography and Lightwork. She has received many awards and commissions, including an honor from The Smithsonian Institute for her outstanding contribution in design, the Mary McLeod Bethune Award and the Madam C. J. Walker Award.

Simpson also is a jewelry designer. Her book Black Cameo will be available during the artist’s reception.