Bill Cottman

Photographer Bill Cottman refers to his work as social landscape photography. His images capture the people, places and things that pass through his life and many incorporate reflections, self portraits and layers.

Photographer Bill Cottman refers to his work as “social landscape” photography. His images capture the people, places and things that pass through his life and many incorporate reflections, self portraits and layers. His photos have often included as subjects his wife Beverly Cottman and daughter Kenna-Camara Cottman, both artists in their own rights; Beverly is a gifted storyteller and Kenna is a magnetic choreographer, educator and dancer. The Cottman family has long been lauded for their plentiful talents, which Bill pooled together for Surface Tensions, a book-turned-performance piece funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. This interdisciplinary project combined Bill’s photographs and “Seventeens,” or haiku-like poems, with Beverly’s stories and Kenna’s choreography and was performed at the Old Arizona Theater in December 2012. Special Thanks Darcy Knight Grant Merges Elizabeth Trumble Additional Photograph: Carl Van Vechten

Air Date 5/11/13