ABOUT MARGARET McCARTHY, THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Inspired and indebted to mythology, photographer Margaret McCarthy brings the eye of a poet to her photography, exploring the archetypes of myth and dream in her imagery.
"I want to reach the viewer on an intuitive level, with photographs that are visually, psychologically and spiritually compelling,” she says. “My goal is to make images that bridge past and future, inner and outer worlds, art and commerce. My philosophy: Beauty in an ugly age is revolutionary."
Her techniques include working with B&W infrared film, using images in sequences, and collage in order to create a sense of “otherworldliness” and a transcendent vision of the human imagination. Her landscapes capture a sense of the fecund creativity of the natural world.
She has exhibited her photographs extensively, including the Fogg Art Museum, the Overseas Press Club and The Hudson River Museum, as well as numerous galleries, universities and public exhibition spaces. Her “Divine Feminine” series is now part of the Kinsey Institute Art Collection.
Her images have appeared in arts publications that include ARTS AND LETTERS JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE, WRITING ON WATER (MIT Press), PARABOLA Magazine, IN PRAISE OF THE MUSE: Women Artists Datebook, and COMBINATIONS: A JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY.
McCarthy's images have garnered clients as diverse as BMG Classics (the Bertelsmann Music Group), Narada World Music, Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co., and the New York Times Travel Section. Her work was the subject of an Adams-Russell Cable TV documentary, MARGARET McCARTHY PHOTOGRAPHS IRELAND. She has also documented the peace and social justice movements of the last two decades with her camera. This work was recently featured In the award winning on-line photography magazine aCurator.
McCarthy has been awarded fellowship grants from The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, The Ragdale Foundation and Hambidge Center for the Arts.
Cultural organizations such as The National Tourist Office of Spain, The Irish Tourist Board, The Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE) and The Aegean Institute have supported her independent photographic projects all over the world.
A graduate of New York City’s School of Visual Arts, she has taught and mentored art students through The Great Lakes Colleges New York Arts Program.
She is a member of ASMP, the American Society of Media Photographers and its Fine Arts Braintrust Specialty Group, and APA, American Photographic Artists.