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So what is it that so relentlessly drives Keith Carter? For a certainty he has a soul-deep itch to create, to make art, to elevate others and be elevated himself by the issue of his own gift - but I cannot say from what source that itch in Keith or in any other great artist comes, though there are times I am convinced it is self-chosen before the artist ever draws breath and the wish granted by some benevolent god. Finally, of course, it is unknowable - it is one of the great mysteries. And perhaps the proper response to such great mystery is simply to stand there in awe of the work - as I do of my friend Keith's - and gratefully accept its blessings.
-Bill Wittliff, artist, screenwriter, producer, and founder of the Wittliff Collection
of Southwestern & Mexican Photography
Born in Madison Wisconsin in 1948, Keith Carter moved to Beaumont, Texas at the age of five, and has lived there ever since. He developed his talents as a photographer essentially in isolation, though inspired and encouraged by his mother who made a living photographing local children.
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Today, Mr. Carter is an internationally recognized photographer and educator, holding the endowed Walles Chair of Art at Lamar University. Respected for his hauntingly enigmatic photographs, Keith recently added two more honors to his long list of achievements when he was awarded the 2009 Texas Medal of Arts, and was named the 2009 Art League Houston's Texas Artist of the Year.
Keith's photographs have been shown in over ninety solo exhibitions around the world. More than ten monographs and one documentary DVD of his work have been published to date.
His photographs are in numerous permanent collections, including George Eastman House, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Wittliff Collection at Texas State University.
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 Interactive Exhibition
Keith Carter 2010 Bio
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