Gordon Stettinius - LENSCRATCH

Gordon Stettinius by Aline SmithsonFebruary 9, 2011

I just makes me happy that Gordon Stettinius is in the world. He’s a rare combination of hipster, comedian, smarty pants, and generous image maker. I first came across his work when he was publishing one of the first on-line magazines, Eye Caramba, that had a bent toward toy camera work, and often saw his work celebrated in SHOTS and Light Leaks Magazines. Gordon has a serious side; he was a photographic educator at Virginia Commonwealth University until last year, when he took time off to establish a publishing house, Candela Books, and create a monograph of Gita Lenz’s amazing work, virtually saving her photographic legacy from being lost and forgotten. Gita recently passed away at 101, and Gordon was able to produce her monograph in time for her to enjoy the spotlight.

Gordon’s wry humor always makes me laugh. I remember reading a thread of posts on Filmwasters about trite images of graves and headstones and photographers were posting their worst images…Gordon, instead, added this photo of a placenta taken in North Dakota…

Much of Gordon’s work is about being in the right place at the right time, about being an observer and a participant, and crisscrossing our country with eyes wide open.

Gordon’s new work, Mangini Studio Series, done in collaboration with Terry Brown, gives Cindy Sherman a run for her money. These self portraits were created over the past several years, and highlights how many ways we can present ourselves to the world….

Images from Mangini Studio Series
Beehive, 2008