Erik Madigan Heck, MFA Photography ’10
For Erik Madigan Heck, MFA Photography ’10, there’s beauty in control. To achieve his vision, he often serves as creative director, setting and props master, and stylist. “For me as an artist, everything is dictated by the idea. Form follows that,” says Heck of his lush artistry. The expansive role suits his creative practice, which straddles fine art and fashion photography and earns him commissions from top-tier clients like Comme des Garçons, Etro, and Alexander McQueen.
In various images — such as the one from Heck’s photo essay “Drôle d’oiseau” (“strange bird”), created for Numero Magazine and shown in the gallery above — the artist presents his subject in a pose recalling classical portraiture within a signature color-saturated scene. Heck says, “I’ve always been on a quest to make paintings with photography. As a medium, photography never interested me, but bending it to create a new form of 2D imagery — where the medium becomes ambiguous — that does. Parsons was the perfect place to explore fashion photography as an art form rather than a commercial device.” Heck’s use of bold color blocking and monochromatic backgrounds and his painterly rendering of his subjects usher his rich photography into the realm of fine art.
While completing his MFA in Photography at Parsons, Heck launched Nomenus Quarterly, a journal on art and fashion. Today Heck photographs campaigns and editorials for publications including the New York Times, Vogue, and WWD; exhibits work in fine art settings; and makes films. He recently photographed American menswear designers for a campaign initiated by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Amazon to promote New York City’s first menswear fashion week.
Heck says, “I’ve always been on a quest to make paintings with photography. As a medium, photography never interested me, but bending it to create a new form of 2D imagery — where the medium becomes ambiguous — that does. Parsons was the perfect place to explore fashion photography as an art form rather than a commercial device.” Heck’s use of bold color blocking and monochromatic backgrounds and his painterly rendering of his subjects usher his intense photography into the realm of fine art.
Heck rapidly became one of the most sought after fashion photographers in the early stages of his career. His work has won multiple notable awards including the prestigious International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award becoming one of the youngest people to ever gain the title at age 30. Heck also has been awarded The Art Director’s Club Gold Medal, and The American Photography Award for his Old Masters collection published by The New York Times Magazine. Heck’s Old Masters collection spotlights famed public individuals who are over the age of 80 and still continuing their professions. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tony Bennett and Betty White are some of the subjects featured in the series alongside interviews he conducted with them.
Portions of this article were originally published on The New School Blog https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/profiles/?id=17179870687
