Bio
Kurt Markus, self-taught American photographer, was born April 6, 1947, in Montana. Markus is a nationally and internationally published photographer of “unique vision.” He has won major awards for his editorial, advertising, and personal work. His photographs demonstrate “extraordinary vision and focus” and are critically renowned.
Markus’s personal work began with a focus on American West Cowboys, which is perhaps his most acclaimed subject to this day. “His timeless photographs explore the rugged yet romantic spirit of the cowboy…Markus reveals an era that is all but forgotten today. In his photography, Markus documents a life style of solitude and difficulty, yet to the viewers, a sense of romance; a hard life of plain food, plain surroundings, horses, and exposure to the elements, and yet a simple life free of inherent stress… [He is] a truly amazing photographer of the fashion and travel industry”. Since then, he has lived various lives as a photographer, making his mark in landscape, figure study, celebrity, fashion, sports, travel, and more. “Whatever the theme, he is most known for his sense of realism and his decidedly direct and not the least bit artificial approach”. Although most of his career has been devoted to photography, he has also created music videos and films.
In 1994, Kurt Markus was one of five photographers to participate in a special 25th anniversary edition of Rolling Stone presenting the living legends of rock-n-roll. In 1999, Markus won a Life Magazine Alfred Eisenstaedt Photography Award for his Rolling Stone “Sports Hall of Fame” shots of triathlete, Peter Kotland.
In 2003, Kurt filmed a music video and photographed the album art for Tori Amos’s “Scarlet’s Walk.” “Tori felt that Kurt’s love for America went hand-in-hand with the theme.”
In 2006, Markus filmed Jewel’s music video “Goodbye Alice in Wonderland” spontaneously, after a photo shoot at her Texas ranch. “The homegrown clip beautifully reflects both the song’s organic, intimate sound and its powerfully autobiographical story.” Markus shot the video entirely with a classic Super 8 camera.
The New Yorker praises Markus’s photographs in the Staley-Wise exhibition “America the Beautiful” (March 6 – May 9, 2009). “If anyone steals the show, it’s Kurt Markus, whose six photographs (many of cowboys) are quietly, unfailingly artful.”
On July 2, 2009, Kurt Markus again set out with the classic Super 8 camera, this time with John Mellencamp, to create a documentary of Mellencamp’s 2009 summer tour and recording. His son and assisting cameraman, Ian Markus, accompanies him to film digitally and capture sound. Markus’s approach will “capture the unrefined truth of his experience with Mellencamp.”
When asked his idea of beauty, Markus says, “A two-page spread, either in a magazine or in a book. On one page, great writing, presented in a beautiful typeface, classically designed, on the opposite, a memorable photograph. It doesn’t get any more beautiful than that.” About his work, Markus says, “I have been lucky in my work. I consider it a gift to have found photography and made my life in it. If I reflect for a moment on the people I’ve met and the places I’ve been, the memory gives me both satisfaction and energy. More than ever I am eager to do the work I love.”
Kurt Markus lives in Kalispell, Montana with his wife Maria and their two sons, Weston and Ian. “Both of his sons are interested in the world of photography and are following in their father’s footsteps,” often assisting him on major shoots.