Magazines
Horizon Magazine, Antique Monthly, Newsweek, Village Voice, USA Today, Modern Maturity, Northeast Orient Magazine, Alabama Heritage, Sophisticated Traveler-the New York Times, Mercedes International, Veranda, and Southern Accents.
Books
Common Threads (CKM Press, 1999)
Photographs and stories from the South—Photographs by Chip Cooper, Stories by Kathyrn Tucker Windham.
Silent in the Land (CKM Press, 1993)
Photographs by Chip Cooper.
Reflections of the South (W. Smith, New York and London, 1991) Contributing Photographer.
Alabama Memories (W.H. Smith, New York and London, 1989) Photographs by Chip Cooper.
Alabama Memories: Reviews
Miguel Flores, President of Instituto Guatamalteco Americo
I have seen many photographs of American photographers. . . . I realize your work is very fine. . . . I am very impressed; your photographs are great!
Harper Lee, Author, To Kill a Mockingbird
A stunning and superb book.
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Gail Buckland
I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at your book and compliment you on not only a truly handsome publication, sensitively arranged, but also on the depth of feeling you communicate through your imagery. . . . Congratulations on a fine achievement.
The Birmingham News
Despite the relative commonness in his subject matter, Cooper hardly makes a misstep in framing his photographs. A unique angle, subtle colors, crispness of vision, an understanding of line and form—that takes it out of the ordinary and masters what could have been cliché—unique.
American Photographer
In the dismal swamp of regional picture books for which untold stands of Southern pine have lately been sacrificed, the occasional gem is all the more welcome. Chip Cooper’s book, Alabama Memories, is one of those exceptions, bringing a freshness to its subject that reminds the jaded viewer why he or she first became interested in taking pictures. GEO graphics books let photographers range freely with their cameras, and in this book Cooper has done just that, shooting everything from peeling paint abstractions to the inevitable sunset. Cooper has produced a fine collection that manages to be both evocative and genuine.
Montgomery Advertiser
Timing always has been a key element of any photograph—being in the right place at the right instant. And Mr. Cooper prides himself in working for the perfect moment to capture an image, a feeling. By forcing us to focus attention on the small as well as the large, Cooper offers us unexpected delights buried in the all-too-ordinary complexities of our lives.
Brooks Joyner, former Director, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Your photographs in your new book are works of art in their own right. It is truly one of the very finest books on any region that I have ever seen.
Mobile Bay Monthly
Cooper ferrets out the eloquent image in the common scene, decides upon his artistic impression and message, and then waits for the decisive moment. The elusive moment comes when everything falls into place—color, light, shadow, texture, form, and composition. With this technique, the artist communicates his ideas to the viewer in a memorable moment frozen in time. Cooper’s work is a re-affirmation of nature’s beauty and lasting quality.
Robert Inman, Author
Alabama Memories is a wonderful piece of work. It’s a powerful evocation of the Alabama of my growing-up, captured beautifully by your keen eye and poet’s sensitivity.
Gay Talese, Author
Alabama Memories by Chip Cooper is exquisite, wonderful, and most appreciated.
Vis a Vis
With remarkable restraint, he avoids the two extreme views of the South: the elegance of the antebellum mansion and the despair of rural poverty. Instead, his artist’s eye focuses on the Southern landscape. He sees the untouched beauty of Alabama as equal to that of New England and he wants the world to see it, too.
Alabama, The Great Surprise: Pictorial View of Alabama (State of Alabama, 1988) Contributing Photographer.
Hunting: The Southern Tradition. Photographs by Chip Cooper; Text by May Lamar and Rich Donnell (Taylor Publishing, Dallas Texas, 1987).
Mine, Mill and Microchip: A Chronicle of Alabama Enterprise by Wayne Flynt (Windsor Publications, Northridge, California, 1987) Contributing Photographer.
The Alabama Catalog: Historic American Buildings Survey by Robert Gamble (University of Alabama Press, 1983), Contributing Photographer.
Grants
1993 Fellowship recipient from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.
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Awards and Honors
Award of Excellence, Book Series 1994, Communication Arts Magazine. Selected for the inclusion in Communications Arts 1994 Photography Annual and the 1994 Print Magazine Regional Design Annual.
100 national and state awards for University of Alabama related photography; awards designed by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for superior work.
5 awards, through the University Press Photographers Association (UPPA).
25 ADDYs awarded by Birmingham and Tuscaloosa Advertising Federation.
2 state awards through Birmingham, Alabama, arts group.
Photographs are held in many private, corporate, and museum collections.
Television and Radio Features
Alabama Public Radio: Featuring “Chip Cooper, Southern Photographer” on a segment of “All Things Considered.”
One of two photographers featured in February 1987, PBS documentary, “Captured: Chip Cooper, Spider Martin, Photographers,” produced for Alabama Public Television and aired statewide.
Shows
Group show, “Alabama Art 2000,” Nall Museum of Art, Vence, France, 2000.
Group show, “Alabama Array,” An art celebration at Alabama Artists Gallery, Montgomery, Alabama, 2000.
Group show, “Alabama Artists,” Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, Alabama, 2000
One-man show, “Eclectic Pieces & Symbols,” Hoover Art Museum, Hoover, Alabama, 1998.
Group show, “The south and It’s Photographers,” Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina, 1997.
One-man show, “New Work” Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina, 1997.
Group show, “Alabama Artists,” Cousin Twin Dreamers Gallery, Captiva, Florida, 1996.
Group show, “Elton John Aids Benefit,” Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 1996.
Group show, “The South by It’s Photographers,” Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Alabama, 1996.
Group show, “Alabama Impact,” Contemporary Artists with Alabama Ties, Mobile Museum of Art, 1995.
Group show, “Alabama Impact,” Contemporary Artists with Alabama Ties, Huntsville, Museum of Art, 1995.
One-man show, “On Common Ground,” Huntsville Museum of Art, 1995.
Group show, “Photography,” Holland Smith Gallery, Huntsville, Alabama, 1994.
One-man show, “Silent in the Land,” Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 1994.
Group show, “Thirty Something,” A 30th Celebration Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, AL, 1994.
One-man show, “Mighty Fortress,” Huntsville Museum of Art, 1994.
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One-man show, “Silent in the Land,” Ferguson Gallery, University of Alabama, 1994.
Group show, “Art Forms and Messages,” The Partnership Gallery, Montgomery, Alabama, 1993.
One-man show, Silent in the Land, The State Capitol, Montgomery, Alabama, 1993.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano, San Jose, Costa Rica, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Guatamala City, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Teculuta’n, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Zacapa, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Coban, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Antiqua, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Huehue, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Alabama Memories,” Instituto Guatamala Americano, Peten, Guatamala, 1991.
One-man show, “Encounters 19: Chip Cooper,” Huntsville Museum of Arts, 1991.
Group show, “Black and White and Color,” by Chris Heard and Chip Cooper, Center for Cultural Arts of Gadsden, Gadsden, Alabama, 1990.
Group show, “Corporate Art,” Kentuck Museum, Northport, Alabama, 1989.
Group show, “Alabama Landscape Photographs,” Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama, 1989.
One-man show, Bank of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1989.
Group show, “Alabama Landscape Photographs,” Anniston Museum of Art, Anniston, Alabama, 1989.
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“In View of Home, Alabama Landscape Photographs”
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL; Anniston Museum of Natural History, Anniston, AL; Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, AL (traveling exhibition) 1989
One-man show, Independent Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama, 1986.
Eastern Shores Art Gallery, Fairhope, AL, 1986
One-man show, Junior League Art Gallery, Bama Theatre, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1984.
Group show, “Seven Artists of Alabama,” the Junior League Gallery, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1984.
1984, “Seven Artists of Alabama,” The J.R. Leigh Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL, 1984
Employment History
1989-Present - Adjunct Professor, Department of Art—Photography, University of Alabama, Director of Photography.
1984-Present - Artist—Chip Cooper Photography
Specializing in photograph for books and museum shows.
1982-Present - Freelance photography—Specializing in still life, industrial, and artistic problem solving photography.
1976-Present - Director of Photography, University Relations, University of Alabama. Responsible for all news and publications photography.
1973-1976 - Bryce Hospital, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Responsible for publications and photography for Alabama’s state mental institution.
1972-1973 - Birmingham Post Herald. Stringer for Tuscaloosa area, with writing and photography responsibilities.
1972 - University of Alabama, Photographer in VISTA Program
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