Thomas Joshua Cooper

“There are no birds, bugs or animals on the Polar Ice Shelf. Nothing you can see. Just the wind and the sound of ice cracking.”—Thomas Joshua Cooper

Thomas Joshua Cooper has spent the last 20-plus years traversing the Atlantic Basin to “make his pictures.” His “atlas” project began in 1989 as a means of creating a photographic dialogue between the old world and the new. From his home in Scotland to the southern-most point of the African continent, to the edges of Antarctica and up to the top of South America, Cooper has chartered boats, planes, helicopters and even rode a nuclear powered icebreaker to document important geographical and historical points. Cooper may be the first person ever to reach all of the extremities of the Atlantic Basin and may certainly be the last as up to 35 percent of the sites he has visited will no longer exist in 15 years due to rising sea levels.

In 2007, he ventured to the North Pole, where he took images of pure whiteness, wanting to “convey the experience of cold and white while removing any objects or points of reference.” Cooper traditionally eliminates the horizon from his camera frame as he wants to “remove ease and create an interior space” for the viewer. Later he spent 90 days on a 50-foot boat in the Antarctic visiting both known and unknown places on the map, along the way discovering an uncharted island that he subsequently was able to name after his wife, Catherine. And, while stationed on land at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, he worked in negative 41 degrees with a wind chill of 77 below to make his image The Polar Plateau: The South Pole, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 90°. Despite being equipped with special film for below freezing temperatures, Cooper’s photo bears witness to the extreme weather conditions by way of a random black jagged line where the negative cracked.

Since he began his career on April Fool’s Day in 1969, Cooper has used just one camera, an 1889 wooden field camera, that can be alternatively perilous to carry along high sea cliffs or a life saver, as when he was trapped in quicksand. From the start, he promised himself to only take pictures outdoors and to only make one exposure per photograph.

Born in San Francisco in 1946, he studied art, philosophy, and literature at Humbolt State University before completing his Masters of Art in Photography at the University of New Mexico in 1972. His first solo show was held in 1971, and since then, he has been the subject of over 85 solo exhibitions throughout the world. Thomas Joshua Cooper has received numerous awards including a Photography Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1978); a MacArthur Fellowship (1997); and, most recently, a John Simon Guggenheim Award (2009).

Cooper’s photographs can be found in over 50 public collections worldwide, including The Art Institute of Chicago; The J. Paul Getty Museum; Los Angeles County Art Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth; Nimes Museum of Contemporary Art, France; The Polaroid Collection, Frankfurt; Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey; The Tate Gallery, London; and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Lannan Foundation holds the single largest collection of Thomas Cooper’s work. Cooper is the founding head of photography at the Glasgow School of Art.

Artwork

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	The Beagle Canal The Beagle Canal Our “Punta Final” Near Puerto Williams, Isla Navarino Antartica Chilena Chile, 2008 Very near the South-most settlement with a permanent population in the world 54° 56.09’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Beagle Canal The Beagle Canal Punta Fortuna, Puerto Harberton, Isla Grande Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego Argentina, 2006-2008 54°52.51’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	severe storm warning severe storm warning The Drake Passage Cabo de Hornos / Cape Horn, Isla Hornos /The Island of Horn Islas Hermite, Antartica Chilena Chile, 2006-2008 Very near the South-most point of all South America 59° 59’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	safe harbour safe harbour Ardley Cove King George Island The South Shetland Islands, United Kingdom Antarctica, 2008 62° 12.1’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	slippery rocks slippery rocks The Antarctic Sound Cape Dubouzet Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica, 2008 The Northeast-most point of Continental Antarctica 63° 16’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“uncharted dangers” – sudden clearing “uncharted dangers” – sudden clearing Prime Head IceWall Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica, 2008 The North-most point of Continental Antarctica 63° 12’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“uncharted dangers” – dense fog “uncharted dangers” – dense fog The Bransfield Strait The Mouth of The Antarctic Soun Prime Head Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica, 2008 The North-most point of Continental Antarctica 63° 12’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Port Charcot Port Charcot Booth Island Graham Land Antarctica, 2008 65°14.1’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Thunder Bay Thunder Bay Port Lockroy Weincke Island, Palmer Archipelago Graham Land Antarctica, 2008 Very near Base A, the second oldest research site in Antarctica 64° 49’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Kangertittivaq / Scoresbysund Kangertittivaq / Scoresbysund Uunarteq / Kap Tobin Liverpool Land, Tunu / Ost / East Greenland, Denmark, 2007-2008 From the longest Word in the world 70° 24.641’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Greenland Sea The Greenland Sea Kap Patrick Brooke Shannon Island Dronning Margrethe II Land Greenland, Denmark, 2007-2008 The South-most point of the Island 76° 00.950’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Prins Christian Sund Prins Christian Sund The North Atlantic Ocean The Irminger Sea The Eastern Entry Kong Frederik IX Land Greenland, Denmark, 2007-2008 60° 05.630’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The British Channel The British Channel Champa Island Zemly Frantsa-Josifa / Franz-Josef Land Russia, 2007-2008 The Southern region of The Franz-Josef Land Archipelago 80° 37.765’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The British Channel The British Channel Champa Island Zemly Frantsa-Josifa / Franz-Josef Land Russia, 2007-2008 The Southern region of The Franz-Josef Land Archipelago 80° 37.765’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	iceberg field from an iceberg summit iceberg field from an iceberg summit Jakobshavens IsWord Disko Bay Illulissat / Jakobshavens Isbras Kittaa Greenland, Denmark, 2007-2008 69° 12.008’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	icenest icenest The Greenland Sea The Barents Sea Fluglehuken / Bird Point Prins Karls Foreland Svalbard, Norway, 2004-2008 The West-most point of The Svalbard Archipelago 78° 54.226’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Isfiorden Isfiorden Longyearbean Spitzbergen, Adventdalen Svalbard, Norway, 2008 78° 15.141’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	the midnight sun – freezing the midnight sun – freezing The Barents Sea – day three Nordkapp / North Cape Finnmark Norway, 2003-2008 (a three-part work) 71° 10.210’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	midnight – freezing fog midnight – freezing fog The Barents Sea – day two Nordkapp / North Cape Finnmark Norway, 2003-2008 (a three-part work) 71° 10.210’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The North Atlantic Ocean The North Atlantic Ocean The Denmark Strait Looking towards Greenland Bjargtangar, Vestur-Bardastrandarsysla Vestfirdir Iceland, 2007-2008 The West-most point of Iceland 65° 30.291’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The North Atlantic Ocean The North Atlantic Ocean Akraberg The Island of Suduroy The Faroe Islands Denmark, 2007-2008 The South-most point of The Faroe Islands 61° 23.471’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	midnight – freezing rain midnight – freezing rain The Barents Sea – day one Nordkapp / North Cape Finnmark Norway, 2003-2008 (a three-part work) 71° 10.210’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Oslofiorden Oslofiorden West – Looking towards Norway Near Revholmen, Vesteroy Norway, 1997-2008 58° 59.319’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	midnight midnight The Tornea Estuary / SkomkarWärd The Gulf of Bothnia West – Looking towards Sweden Röytta, Lappi Finland, 1997-2008 65° 45.323’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	midnight midnight The Mouth of the River Tornea The Gulf of Bothnia East – Looking towards Finland Haparanda, Norrbotten Sweden, 1997-2008 65° 49.062’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Looking South – sudden darkness looking South – sudden darkness Just above the Arctic Circle The Davis Strait Sisimiut Kong Frederik IX Land Greenland, Denmark 2008 66° 55.412’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	looking towards the deep South looking towards the deep South The Antarctic Circle Crystal Sound Bragg Island Bisco Islands, Graham Land Antarctica, 2008 66° 29.0’ S Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	First Foot – ten minutes after midnight First Foot – ten minutes after midnight The Arctic Circle At the River Tornea North – Border Crossings The Midnight Sun on Mid-Summer’s Night The Swedish / Finnish Border, 1997-2008 (a two-part work) The Summer Solstice 66º 33’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	First Foot – midnight, The Arctic Circle, At the River Tornea, North – Border Crossings, The Midnigh First Foot – midnight, The Arctic Circle, At the River Tornea, North – Border Crossings, The Midnight Sun on Mid-Summer’s Night, The Swedish / Finnish Border, 1997-2008 (a two-part work), The Summer Solstice, 66º 33’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Dreaming the North Polar Winter Solstice, The Arctic Ocean, The North Pole, 2007-2008 Dreaming the North Polar Winter Solstice, The Arctic Ocean, The North Pole, 2007-2008 (a two-part work), 90° N Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“Force Majeure”, The South Atlantic Ocean, Looking towards Cabo San Juan, from “The, Lighthouse at “Force Majeure”, The South Atlantic Ocean, Looking towards Cabo San Juan, from “The, Lighthouse at the End of the World”, Cabo Lasserre, Isla de Los Estados / Staten Island, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, 2008, The Southeast-most point of all South America, 54°43.63’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland South – Looking towards Russia Tulbiniemi Tulludden Hanko, Etela-Suomi Finland, 2007-2008 The Southwest-most point of Finland 59° 48.559’ N Size: 28 x 36 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	tossed and tumbled, The Antarctic Sound, Cape Dubouzet, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, The Antarcti tossed and tumbled, The Antarctic Sound, Cape Dubouzet, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, 2008, The Northeast-most point of Continental Antarctica, 63° 16’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	swamped and scattered, The Southern Ocean and The Drake Passage, Looking North –Cape Lookout, Elepha swamped and scattered, The Southern Ocean and The Drake Passage, Looking North –Cape Lookout, Elephant Island, The South Shetland Islands, United Kingdom, Antarctica, 2008, The North-most South Shetland Island at its South-most point, 61° 17’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	swamped and scattered, The Southern Ocean and The Drake Passage, Looking North –Cape Lookout, Elepha swamped and scattered, The Southern Ocean and The Drake Passage, Looking North –Cape Lookout, Elephant Island, TheSouth Shetland Islands, United Kingdom, Antarctica, 2008, The North-most South Shetland Island at its South-most point, 61° 17’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“uncharted dangers” – clear, Prime Head Ice Wall, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peni “uncharted dangers” – clear, Prime Head Ice Wall, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, 2008, The North-most point of Continental Antarctica 63° 12’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“uncharted dangers” – dense fog again, The Bransfield Strait, The Mouth of The Antarctic Sound, Prim “uncharted dangers” – dense fog again, The Bransfield Strait, The Mouth of The Antarctic Sound, Prime Head, Trinity Peninsula, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, 2008, The North-most point of Continental Antarctica, 63° 12’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	“uncharted dangers” – blanketing dense fog, The Bransfield Strait, The Mouth of The Antarctic Sound “uncharted dangers” – blanketing dense fog, The Bransfield Strait, The Mouth of The Antarctic Sound, Looking towards Prime Head, “Catherine Island”, Antarctica, 2008, Looking towards the North-most point of Continental, Antarctica from this newly charted and named island, 63° 12.81’ S / 57° 16.20’ W Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	refuge, The Bransfield Strait, Neptune’s Window at the crater wall edge, Deception Island, The South refuge, The Bransfield Strait, Neptune’s Window at the crater wall edge, Deception Island, The South Shetland Islands, United Kingdom, Antarctica, 2008, 62° 59 S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	blinding brightness, Yankee Harbour, Greenwich Island, The South Shetland Islands, United Kingdom blinding brightness, Yankee Harbour, Greenwich Island, The South Shetland Islands,United Kingdom, Antarctica, 2008, 62° 32’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Lemaire Channel, “Landruk Point”, Graham Coast, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Lemaire Channel, “Landruk Point”, Graham Coast, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica, 2008, The newly proposed and named, Northwest-most point of Continental, Antarctica, 65° 04’ 0”’ S / 63° 55’5” W Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Last Light, shifting ice – sudden danger, Garlache Strait at Orlean’s Strait, Cape Herschel last light, shifting ice – sudden danger, Garlache Strait at Orlean’s Strait, Cape Herschel from “LISA Rock”, Davis Coast, Graham Land, The Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica, 2008, Cape Hershell 64°04.‘S, “LISA Rock”, Laura Indigo Sophie Alice Rock, 64°02.85’ S / 60°59.85’ W Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	hole, Cornice Channel, Skua Island – Looking towards Galindez Island, The Argentine Islands, Wilhelm hole, Cornice Channel, Skua Island – Looking towards Galindez Island, The Argentine Islands, Wilhelm Archipelago, Graham Land, Antarctica, 2008. On the site of the discovery of the hole in The Earth’s ozone layer. This site is very near the oldest reseach station in Antarctica, Wordie Hut, 65°15.14’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	whiteout, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 80° 17.99 whiteout, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 80° 17.994’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 80° 17.994’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	Windy Hill and The Three Sails, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica Windy Hill and The Three Sails, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 80° 17.994’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Enterprise Hills, The Continental Ice Shelf, Windy Hill Pass, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	The Three Sails, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008 The Three Sails, The Continental Ice Shelf, Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 80° 17.994’ S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	-43°F / -41.6°C, The Polar Plateau, The South Pole, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 90° S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection

	-43°F / -41.6°C, The Polar Plateau, The South Pole, Antarctica, 2007-2008, 90° S Size: 40 x 54 inches Medium: Selenium and gold chloride toned silver gelatin print Current Lannan Art Collection
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