ABOUT
Biography
Joseph Michael Lopez (b. 1973) is an independent photographer born in New York City to a Puerto Rican father and a mother who escaped the Cuban revolution in 1967. He earned his MFA in 2011 at Columbia University. Lopez began his career as an analog cinematographer on the critically acclaimed Bruce Weber film, Chop Suey (2001). Currently, Joseph divides his time between long-form projects, teaching, and commercial work. His photographs have appeared on the covers of M, The Magazine for Leica M Photography, Leica Fotografie International, The Sunday Review of The New York Times, New York magazine and The New Yorker, among others.
Joseph’s photographs were on exhibit in “Cuban Photography after 1980: Selections from the Museum’s Collection”, at The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. In 2016, a commissioned series of his photographs of New York neighborhoods, “New York at Its Core: Future City Lab”, was permanently installed at The Museum of the City of New York. Photographs from Dear New Yorker, the series from which this commission originated, have also been published in the book Bystander: A History of Street Photography, by Colin Westerbeck and Joel Meyerowitz.
Education
2011 Master of Fine Arts, Visual Arts – Photography, Columbia University, New York City
Solo Exhibition
2016 New York At Its Core: Future City Lab, The Museum of the City of New York
Teaching Experience, Visiting Artist Lecture Venues and Workshops
2023 Spring Workshop - Leica Akademie - City Stories: New York
2023 Guest Critic / Artist Lecture - School of Visual Arts - NYC
2023 Lecturer - Spring Semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Fall Workshop - Leica Akademie - City Stories: Chicago
2022 Lecturer - Fall Semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Lecturer - Fall Semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Lecturer - Summer session - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Lecturer - Summer session - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Artist Lecture - School of Visual Arts - NYC
2022 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2022 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2021 Artist Lecture - Lafayette College - Easton, PA
2021 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2021 Artist Lecture - Ohio State University - Columbus, OH
2020 Lecturer - Fall semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Photographic Lighting, Pratt Institute, New York City
2020 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2019 Fall Workshop - Leica Akademie - City Stories: New York
2019 Lecturer - Fall semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, NY
2019 Lecturer - Fall semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2019 Artist Lecture - School of Visual Arts - NYC
2019 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, NY
2019 Lecturer - Spring semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2018 Lecturer - Fall semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, NY
2018 Lecturer - Fall semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Pratt Institute, New York City
2018 Fall Workshop - Leica Akademie - Leica Street Photography Weekend, NYC
2018 Artist Lecture - The Museum of the City of New York, Teachers Professional Development Course, Capturing the City through the Camera
2018 Lecturer - Summer Session One - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Intro to Digital, Fordham University, Rose Hill Campus, NY
2018 Spring Workshop - Leica Akademie - Leica Street Photography Weekend, NYC
2018 Artist Lecture - Arts & Letter - Arts & Philosophy Department, Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus
2018 Artist Lecture - Brooklyn College - CUNY
2018 Artist Lecture - School of Visual Arts - NYC
2018 Artist Lecture - Columbia University School of the Arts
2017 Artist Lecture - Miami Street Photography Festival - Miami, FL
2017 Guest Lecturer - Fall Semester - Adjunct Faculty in Photography, Advanced Analog Black & White, Miami-Dade College, Kendall Campus, FL
2017 Artist Lecture - Leica Soho Store - NYC
2017 Artist Lecture - Parson School of Design - NYC
2017 Fall Workshop and Public Panel - New York Now! Penumbra Foundation, NYC
2017 Artist Lecture - PS167: The Williamsburg Bridge Magnet School for Communication & Mixed Media Arts, NY
2017 Artist Lecture - Brooklyn College - Macaulay Honors College
2017 Artist Lecture - The Museum of the City of New York, Game Day: City Stories and Digital Gaming
2017 Artist Lecture - Miami Dade College Kendall Arts and Philosophy
2016 Artist Lecture - School of Visual Arts - NYC
2015 Artist Lecture - The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
2015 Summer Workshop - "New York Street" with Spazio Labo'
2014 Artist Lecture - Pratt Institute - Manhattan
2013 Artist Lecture - Pratt Institute - Manhattan
2013 Artist Lecture - Parsons The New School of Design
2013 Artist Lecture - Columbia University School of the Arts
2012 Artist Lecture - Yale University School of Art
2012 Artist Lecture - Montclair State University College of the Arts
2011 Photography Department Research Assistant - Columbia University School of the Arts
2010 Photography Department Research Assistant - Columbia University School of the Arts
Group Exhibitions
2021-20 Stuyvesant to Sid Vicious: Collecting New York's Stories, Museum of the City of New York
2019 FUJIFILM Pop-up Portfolio Review exhibit, Bronx Documentary Center, New York
2019 Pop Up Pepper for (ORIS) Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success, Roger Williams Gallery, New Hampshire Institute of Art
2018 The Cuban Cultural Center of New York - Cuban Photography: La Isla En Su Imagen Durante Dos Siglos - Island In Her Image For Two Centuries, The New School - Parsons, NYC
2018 Beasts of the City, Wild Bird Fund, New York City
2017 Cuban Photography after 1980: Selections from the Museum’s Collection, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2017 You, the People: A night of photography and film, New York City
2015 Am I Invisible? NYC | SP, A public art installation & exhibition organized with the Centro Cultural São Paulo. Curated by Baixo Ribeiro
2015 Campos de Batalla, Fotografia Cubana Contemporanea, Vedado, La Habana, Cuba
2015 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel, En Voz Alta (Aloud), New York City
2014 Aperture Summer Open, Aperture Foundation, New York City
2013 Finalists for the 2013 - 2014 CINTAS Foundation Fellowship in Visual Arts, MDC's Museum of Art + Design, Miami, Florida
2013 We Don't Owe You A Thing, curated by Carl Gunhouse, Ridgewood, New York
2013 Museum of the City of New York, Street Shots/NYC, curated by Sean Corcoran,
South Street Seaport Museum, New York City
2012 Everything That Rises Must Converge, curated by Carl Gunhouse & Ginevra Shay, Current Space, Baltimore, Maryland & 950 Hart Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2011 The Emerging Landscape: Photographs and Drawings Exploring Natural and Imaginary Phenomena, Society Contemporary, New York City
2011 MFA Thesis Exhibition. Columbia's University School of the Arts, curated by Larissa Harris, Fisher Landau Center, New York
2010 B-SIDES, 6-8 Months Project Space, New York City
2010 First-Year MFA Exhibition, Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, New York City
Select Publications
2021 The New Yorker - June 14th, Dept. Of Returns Sitting with Strangers
2021 Réponses Photo - Radicalement Noir & Blanc
2021 Leica Fotografie International – 03
2019 Leica Fotografie International – 07, My Picture
2018 PDN "What Is Street Photography?"
2017 Bystander: A History of Street Photography, by Colin Westerbeck & Joel Meyerowitz
2017 Leica Fotografie International
2017 "100 Great Street Photographs" by David Gibson
2015 M Magazine No. 3, The Magazine for Leica M Photography
2014 The New York Times, Sunday Review: Framing New York
2013 The New Yorker: Photo Booth, A Merry Photographer Christmas
2013 Dear New Yorker featured in Le Journal De La Photographie
2013 PDN Photo Of The Day CLICK HERE
2012 Dear New Yorker featured on the New York Times LENS blog CLICK HERE
Awards
2022 Creatives Rebuild New York GI Artist Program Grant
2021 Humanities Grant from Lafayette College
2019 The United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County
Visiting Artist Residency in Documentary Photography
2015 Nominated for the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award
2014 Shortlist for the Gomma Photography Grant
2014 Finalist for the CDS/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography for Dear New Yorker
2013 Finalist for the 2013 - 2014 CINTAS Foundation Fellowship in Visual Arts for Birth Write
2012 Nominated for PDN'S 30 2013: New and Emerging Photographers to Watch
2012 Shortlist for MONO by Gomma
2011 Nominated invitation for MAGNUM Foundation Emergency Fund for Birth Write
2011 The Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences
2010 Artist Level Runner-Up, JGS Photography Contest, Second Quarter
Reviews
2013 The New Yorker, January 11, Goings On About Town: Street Shots/NYC, Vince Aletti
Collections
Bronx Museum of the Arts
Peter Fetterman
Mark Lubell
Marshall Sonenshine
Museum of the City of New York
The Hirsch Library, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas