Kevin Cummins (photographer)
Kevin Cummins (born Manchester, England) is a British photographer known for photographs of rock bands and musicians including Mick Jagger, Ian Curtis, Joy Division, Morrissey, Courtney Love, Patti Smith, George Clinton, Thomas Dolby, and David Bowie.
Kevin Cummins | |
---|---|
Born | Manchester, England |
Nationality | British |
Known for | Photography |
Career
Cummins studied photography in Salford.[1] He started photographing rock bands in the mid-1970s in Manchester.[2] Cummins had a 25-year association with the NME,[3] including 10 years as their chief photographer.[4] He has photographed numerous bands and musicians including Joy Division, Manic Street Preachers,[5] The Clash,[6] Sex Pistols, R.E.M., U2, Patti Smith, Marc Bolan, The Smiths, Roisin Murphy, Oasis, Foo Fighters, George Clinton, Thomas Dolby, Michael Hutchence, The Stone Roses[7] and Buzzcocks. His images have been seen as a contributing factor in the rise of the Madchester and Cool Britannia scenes.[8]
Cummins was instrumental in establishing City Life,[9] Manchester's what's on guide and was a founding contributor to The Face, the influential style magazine where he won an award for Magazine Cover of the Year.[10]
Cummins's photographs have been used extensively in cinema and TV documentaries including Grant Gee's Joy Division and John Dower's Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop.[11]
In November 2009, Kevin was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Music Photography award by the music industry website: Record of the Day.[12]
He worked extensively for the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester when it opened in the late 1970s through to mid-1980s. He shoots regularly for the National Theatre in London, most recently Harper Regan and Mrs Affleck.[13]
A lifelong Manchester City supporter,[14] Cummins documented City's final season at Maine Road in the book We're Not Really Here
In 2015 Cummins was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (Arts) by Manchester Metropolitan University
Exhibitions
- 1981 Stage Struck – Royal Exchange, Manchester
- 1983 Rock Stars – The Orchard, Dartford, Kent
- 1983 Access all Areas – Royal Exchange, Manchester
- 1985 Silent Faces – Oldham City Art Gallery
- 1986 Minor Characters – The Scott Gallery, Lancaster
- 1986 Cummins 10 – The Cornerhouse, Manchester (Part of the Festival of the Tenth Summer[15])
- 1986–96 The Way We Were – Wigan Heritage Centre
- 1987 Salfordians – Viewpoint Gallery, Salford
- 1994 Salfordians – Salford City Art Gallery
- 2002 The Smiths and Beyond – Proud Central, London[16]
- 2003 We're Not Really Here – Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester[17]
- 2006 Arca: Joy Division – Paul Stolper Gallery, London[18]
- 2007 Score – Proud Gallery at Austin Reed, London
- 2009 "The Crucial 30: Post Punk Liverpool" by Kevin Cummins at The Hard Day's Night Hotel Gallery, Liverpool[19]
- 2009 MANCHESTER: Looking for the Light Through the Pouring Rain. Photographs by Kevin Cummins – Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester[20]
- 2010 MANCHESTER: SO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR … KEVIN CUMMINS at Spazio Gerra, Reggio Emilia, Italy[21]
- 2011 Exemplar: Joy Division at Proud Gallery, London [22][23][24]
Work
- 1999 The National Portrait Gallery chose three of Cummins' photographs for their Icon's of Pop exhibition.[25]
- 2005 British pop artist Peter Blake produced a screen print based on one of Kevin's Joy Division prints.[26]
Bibliography
- The Smiths and Beyond (2002)
- We're Not Really Here: Manchester City’s Final Season at Maine Road (2003)
- Juvenes (2007)
- Manchester: Looking For the Light Through the Pouring Rain (2009) Faber & Faber[27]
- Joy Division (Published November 2010 by Rizzoli)[28]
- ' New Order' (Pub March 2015 by Rizzoli)
- ' Assassinated Beauty: the photos of Manic St Preachers' (published December 2014 Faber & Faber)
Notes
- Independent Newspaper article about Kevin Cummins 12 March 2002
- Cummins, Kevin. "Closer to the birth of a music legend". The Observer. 12 August 2007. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- NME news item about Kevin's 25 year stint there
- Tony Wilson talking about Kevin Cummins and his relationship with City Life and his 10 year stint as chief photographer on the NME
- Cummins, Kevin. "Richey Edwards". The Observer. 14 December 2008. Retrieved on 3 February 2009
- Savage, Jon. "Spit and polish". The Guardian. 24 September 1999. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- Kevin Cummins Stone Roses cover for NME
- Biography of Kevin Cummins which appears on Red Eye's site
- "Short biography on Vauxhall's Style Council website (takes quite a long time to load up)". Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- "Kevin Cummins". Rockarchive. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- "Kevin Cummins (III)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- "Record of the Day full list of 2009 awards". Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- "NT : What's On : Productions : Mrs Affleck". National Theatre. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- Kevin Cummins Man City fan
- Flyer relating to Cummins 10 at the Festival of the Tenth Summer
- review of The Smiths and Beyond in The Observer
- BBC report about We're Not Really Here exhibition
- "Paul Stolper Gallery". Archived from the original on 31 December 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
- New Statesman article by Kevin Sampson
- Exhibition review in City Life, Manchester
- "Fotografia Europea 2010, Reggio Emilia". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- Proud Gallery website
- Review of Proud Gallery exhibition
- Kevin Cummins' best shot in The Guardian October 2011
- "Kevin Cummins (1953–), Photographer". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- "Peter Blake Love Portfolio Archived 31 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine". Paul Stolper. Retrieved on 3 February 2009.
- Faber&Faber website
- Rizzoli website