Artist of the Day, December 26, 2024: John Simmons, an American photographer (#2187)

John Simmons (1950) is a multi-talented artist whose work has spanned across decades. Born in Chicago and coming of age during the Civil Rights Era, Simmons' photography started at the peak of political and racial tension of the 1960s, mentored by a well known Chicago Civil Rights photographer, Bobby Sengstacke.

At age 15 Simmons began shooting photos for The Chicago Defender newspaper — the oldest Black-owned publication established in 1906. After leaving Chicago he studied fine art at Fisk University and completed a Master’s degree in cinematography at the University of Southern California. In 2004 he was inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) where he currently serves as the co-chair of the ASC Vision Committee. He is also on the Board of Governors of the Television Academy and champions increased diversity on-set.

In 2004, Simmons was inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) and now serves as Vice President and as co-chair of the ASC Vision Committee. He is also on the Board of Governors of the Television Academy, working to increase diversity on-set, and taught at UCLA for 26 years before leaving to focus on his photography.

Simmons has also filmed music videos and commercials for artists such as Stevie Wonder, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg and many more. As a filmmaker, Simmons has collaborated with industry giants such as Spike Lee and Debbie Allen, and has served as the Director of Photography for more than 25 television series. Simmons earned an Emmy for his work on Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn.

Outside of the aforementioned exhibits, his photographs are also held at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Center for Creative Photography, the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, and Harvard University, where they exhibited in "Time is Now: Photography and Social Change in James Baldwin's America" at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. His work is also in the permanent collection of the ASC.

Through it all John Simmons has continued to carry a still camera everyday and his photographs are held in the collections of the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Harvard Art Museums, Harvard University; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Center for Creative Photography at The University of Arizona; American Society of Cinematographers; and the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland; Weasley and Missy Cochran Foundation, The Museum of Contemporary Photography of Chicago, IL.

© 2024. All content on this blog is protected by international copyright laws All images are copyrighted © by John Simmons or assignee. Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, the use of any image from this site is prohibited unless prior written permission is obtained. All images used for illustrative purposes only

John Simmons

Xmas Eve, 1967 Chicago

 Parade, 1967 Chicago

Love On The Bus, 1967 Chicago

Girl Eating Ice Cream, 1967 Chicago

Church Lady, 1967 Chicago

Window Writing, 1968 Chicago

Girl With Cops, 1968 Chicago

Democrats, 1968 Chicago

Blackstone Rangers, 1968 Chicago

Africa in Chicago, 1968

Macon, GA, 1969

Angela Davis, 1970 Nashville, TN

Blackman, 1970 NYC

 Dancers In Flight, 1970  Nashville, TN

Duke, 1970 Nashville, TN

White Coat, 1970 Nashville, TN

Archie Shepp, 1971 Nashville, TN

Friends, 1971 Nashville, TN

Girls In Window, 1971 Nashville, TN

 Two Shoes, 1971 Nashville, TN

Fidel, 1973 Cuba

Umbrella, 1976 

 Gravesite, 1990 Trinidad and Tobago

Film School, 2000  Los Angeles, CA

 Man and Shadow , 2000 Los Angeles, CA

Alejandro, 2014  Mexico

Quinceanera, 2014 Mexico

 Stepping Chicago, 2014

Boys With Cannon, 2015 Trinidad & Tobago

Day Of The Dead with A Gun, 2015  Los Angeles, CA

Caravaggio, 2016 London, UK

 Woman In The Fields, 2016 Bali

Oshun, 2017 Los Angeles, CA

Lisbon Monks, 2020