Mark Cohan

In a world where virtually everyone can be a photographer, due to the ease and cheapness of it, it is not easy for one to distinguish themselves. However, photographers like Mark Cohan do otherwise. His style is like no other: 1 part documentary, 1 part conceptual and 2 parts abstract. It is due to his subject matter and unorthodox photography technique that we get a fusion of photography like no other.
A predominantly black and white photographer, Cohan photographs the city-town areas of Pennsylvania; areas that are half rural town and half developed city. While he does achieve in documenting the area and its inhabitance, he also is able to do something else. He takes his photos in a weird way: by choosing a target and making quick passes while taking photos on the run, all without using the viewfinder. What is the result?
Well, the result of all this is currently displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a gallery of Mark Cohan photos called "Strange Evidence". Here, we see a select collection of black and white and some color photos from his works in Pennsylvania areas, with subject matter ranging from locations, buildings, and people.
But often time the cropping on the photos is unusual. Often, many of the photos are not even of people's heads, or at least not completely. The walls in the gallery are scattered with some photos of random body parts and items. But in doing this Cohan shows the details and artistic value of things we commonly don't see: the red lipstick of a woman smoking, or a pair of legs and nothing more, and even just a fence that has plants growing around it. It definitely goes to show that almost anything can have artistic value if put under the right light, and in the case of Cohan get the right framing by chance.
But other photos of his show people carrying out their everyday routiens. Many are aware of the presence of the camera, and in some photos we catch peoples reactions to this. One in particular shows a whole bus of people as they simultaneously look and react to Cohan's presence. Many photos are of children playing as well, possibly alluding to Cohan's stressing of the importance and appreciation for childhood. Also by taking photos of people all from one area, we really get an idea of what the people and the area looks like.
So what we get from Cohan's photography is a blend of abstract, documentative, and conceptual art. His unusual photographic style, along with his subject matter, is able to achieve all three. His photos truly stand as a representative of his photographic skill, and his exhibit "Stange Evidence" displays this.