John Pfahl was born February 17, 1939 in New York, New York. He received his BFA from Syracuse University, school of art in 1961. Later, receiving his MA from Syracuse University, School of Communications in 1968. He taught from 1968-85 at the school of photographic Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. He resigned as a full Professor to pursue a photographic career. During, 1983-84 he was a visiting Professor at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. From 1986- present he is an adjunct professor, at the University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
Pfahl has participated in over 100 group and solo exhibitions and his works have been displayed in at least forty four public and corporate collections. In his first series "Altered Landscapes" Pfahl has a innovative way of looking at nature. His use of geometric shapes transforms something ordinary into something completely unique. In his collection "Power Places" from 1981-84 Pfahl makes something beautiful out of something that is actually monstrous to society as a whole. He captures the unleashing power that nuclear power plants withhold. Environmentalists view his photos as chilling because of the damage to the planet. He traveled many locations to shoot portraits of the nuclear power plants to bring them together in a collection.
I really find it interesting how Pfahl can take something ordinary and see a correlation with something absolutely different. I never would have thought lace can look like a wave, but Pfahl did and captured it with success. Pfahl also inspires me to think up of new ways to think about collections. I plan on incorporating more nature into my next collection and possibly adding something to make the ordinary extraordinary.
