290 - Richard Sharum

Richard Sharum is an editorial and documentary photographer based in upstate New York.  Mainly focusing on socio-economic or social justice dilemmas concerning the human condition, his work has been regarded as in-depth, up-close and personal.  

Selected exhibitions have occurred in Kyoto, Japan, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Reggio Emilia, Italy, New York City, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, and his work has been added to the permanent collection of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and The Wittliff Collection, as well as others.

Richard's commissions include those by The Meadows Foundation, Centers for Community Cooperation, Harvard Law School, Student Conservation Association, Children's Medical Center (Oncology), Children's Cancer Fund. 

His publications include those by LFI (Leica International), British Journal of Photography, LensCulture, The Atlantic, Texas Monthly, Publico (Portugal), El Pais (Spain), Observer (UK), The Wall Street Journal, B+W Photo Magazine, Huck Magazine, Glasstire, PATRON, Creative Review, among others.

Richard has published two photobooks, Campesina Cuba and Spina Americana, both with GOST. His third, American Homicide, will be released early in 2027, also by GOST. The last two of these titles will be joined in 2028 by American Avenue, to form a trilogy of books entitled Of Thee I Sing.

He is represented by The Hulett Collection, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

On episode 290, Richard discusses, among other things:

• His goal of reaching a wider audience among the general public.
• Team window vs. team mirror
• His new book American Homocide
• The fascination for true crime among the public
• How murder affects all the groups involved
• Getting access to the detective squad he embedded with
• The portrayal of violence on screen
• His obsession with time
• The need to be empathetic and open
• The impact of being exposed so many murder victims
• The murder detectives he got to know and photograph
• Corresponding with the perpetrators
• Part three of his planned trilogy, American Avenue
• The state of the photobook industry and the unfairness of the current system

Referenced:

• W Eugene Smith
• Sebastião Salgado
• James Nachtwey
• Larry Towell
• Leonard Freed
• Susan Meiselas
• Gordon Parks

Website | Instagram | Lecture at Columbia

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