A Brief Biography

When I was a teenager I got a Kodak box camera for a Christmas present one year and ever since then I have been hooked on photography. The box camera phase didn't last long as I soon up-graded to a 35mm camera where I learned that a few photographic controls can do wonders for ones photos. I didn't really get interested in the artistic side of photography until after I finished university. I have a BS degree in biology and even studied anthropology and archeology for several years in graduate school. By the late 1960s I ended up in San Francisco, a hotbed of cultural ferment at the time. I got interested in photographing the protest movements of the Bay area during this time and this body of work of work was published in 1969 by the Rip Off Press in the book "We Protest". The book and several photographs were featured in a major exhibition on the protest art of the 60s put on by the Haags Gemeentemuseum of Rotterdam in 1970. While in San Francisco I sold my photos in a few galleries in the Bay area and my work was included in the 1971 Phelan Awards show at the Oakland Museum, a semi-annual survey of Californian photographers.

In the 1970s I followed my heart in another direction and built a large cruising trimaran (42') and sailed that around the Western Caribbean, Pacific, and Alaska for several years. By 1980 I decided to "swallow the anchor" and settled down in Hawaii where I have been ever since. Not much was done with photography during this period.

During the 1980s and 90s I took up a new art form. This was the time of the fine crafts movement and I began to produce furniture and small wooden objects of a sculptural form and featuring laminated designs. These were quite successful and were featured in juries art shows, one-man exhibitions and art galleries throughout Hawaii. I also worked in ceramics and glass. One glass project of this time (1988) was a grant from the state to find a way to recycle the waste silica dioxide that was coming out of a geothermal well here. A formula suitable for hot glass art was developed using the waste silica and distributed to all the hot-glass artists in Hawaii at the time. They all made several pieces and a showing of the work was held at the Volcano Art Center and of course included my glass pieces. I continued to work on my photography all through this period often exhibiting my photos alongside my craft work in juried exhibitions in Hawaii. During this period the Honolulu Academy of Art and the Contemporary Art Center collected my photographs and wood objects. I continue to show my work in various places about Hawaii and in the last year have been featured in shows at the Lyman Museum in their annual Hawaii Photo Expo, and the East Hawaii Cultural Center and the Wailoa Center.

Now I have come out on the Web in hopes of reaching a wider audience. If you are interested in my photos I would love to hear from you - just send me an E-mail. In the future I hope to do more work on photographing China. I plan on eventually traveling to all nine of China's sacred mountains (4 Buddhist and 5 Taoist). So far I have covered only 3 so I have 6 more to go. And, I will continue to work at photographing the events and the scenic landscapes around my Hawaiian home.

Bill Irwin - 2002

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