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by Eric J. Hurwitz
At an age when most working people
approach retirement, Richard S. Duncan is watching his professional
life just begin.
Duncan, 62, is best known in
the Cooperstown, N.Y., area as a talented local photographer
with displays at Cooperstown's world-class Fenimore Art Museum
and Farmers' Museum, as well as contributing to two-well received
local books on Cooperstown. Published by The Farmers' Museum,
Cooperstown, in its seventh expanded and revised edition,
features 167 remarkably-detailed Duncan photographs capturing
the spirit of this storied American village. His photographs
also appeared in the 1995 Farmers' Museum-published Otsego
Lake, Past and Present. An upcoming book on Otsego County
and its beautiful, unspoiled communities promises more ultimate
coffee table book moments of visual splendor.
After years of, at times, hard
city living, Duncan now enjoys the "country life" by
bringing his considerable photographic skills to a Village that
has embraced him as a photographer, and more importantly, a person.
Several hundred people attended the Nov. 25, 2006, Farmers' Museum
Cooperstown book-signing ceremony, with many recognizing
his superb photography skills.
"He has given us a contemporary
photographer's view of the village and lakes," said Paul
D'Ambrosio, vice president and chief curator of the Fenimore
Art Museum. "No contemporary photographer had ever explored
Cooperstown and Otsego Lake in the manner that Richard did. The
Cooperstown book was never really a coffee table kind
of book, but Richard transformed it into that with his photographs."
"We feel so privileged to
work with him," said Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of The
Farmers' Museum. "He's such a warm and caring person. We're
all very happy to give him these wonderful venues."
Life wasn't always this kind
to Richard Duncan, however. For more than 30 years, Duncan fit
the "starving artist mode," working incompatible jobs
and, many times, facing overwhelming financial struggles.
"This is the first time
in my life I don't have to worry about not having food on the
table or film in the camera," said Duncan. "Things
have really started to come together. Before I got the call (to
do this project), I was ready to wash dishes at a local college."
"I'm surprised I'm still
alive," added Duncan, describing his previous life. "When
I got to San Francisco, it was a real struggle. There were times
I lived on the streets of Boston. It was so hard to focus. It's
very different now."
Duncan grew up in what he calls
a "difficult childhood situation," primarily in Sherburne,
N.Y. After high school, he attended the Manlius Military
(prep) School, in Manlius, N.Y.,
and one year at the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in
Providence, R.I., in 1963 before being "asked to leave."
Sensing greater art opportunities on the mellower west coast,
Duncan headed to San Francisco, Cal., with $600.00 in his pocket
to attend the Art Institute, where, amongst myriad experiences,
he studied drawing and painting "under the wing" of
world-renowned artist, Jacques Fabert. During this time, Duncan
also worked as a "hippie postman" to pay the bills.
With gypsy blood in his system,
Duncan moved back to the east coast a few years later, this time
in the Boston, Mass., area where he attended the Museum of Fine
Arts (MOFA) in Boston, Mass., as a student.
At that time, Duncan studied
painting at the MOFA, but soon became interested in color photography.
Duncan eventually taught himself to work with color photography,
being the only person in the building who knew how to use the
darkroom for this medium. He would soon teach photography for
a few years at the MOFA, but then moved on.
"I wasn't very good at marketing
myself," said Duncan, of his short-lived jobs. "I was
a little too creative at that time to fit in. I had a variety
of other jobs while doing photography on the side."
Duncan experienced many times
of frustration during this period, but had a savior in the form
of Aikido, an Eastern arts martial discipline, potentiating self-defense
technique, spiritual enlightenment, physical health and peace
of mind. This discipline eventually transformed into following
Taoism, a martial arts and health maintenance regiment "to
increase a connection to nature and the flow of life." It
gave Duncan "motivation" while he tried to find himself.
After the museum, Duncan worked
odd jobs, matting and framing pictures before finding his longest
career job of 20 years as a janitor at the Christian Science
Reading Room in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass.
With no retirement offered by
the Christian Science Reading Room, Duncan arrived at a crossroads,
but there was remaining light at the end of the tunnel. A friend
invited Duncan to a "lake party" in Cooperstown. where
he said "everyone was so nice." Arriving back in the
city after this glorious visit, Duncan's landlord evicted Duncan
from his Tufts University-area apartment in Somerville, Mass.,
in favor of his grandson. That's when Duncan's said "enough
is enough."
"I said 'nuts to this' and
with $3,000 in savings, a bike and a camera, I moved to the country,
Cooperstown," said Duncan. "I grew up in the country
and the city was starting to frighten me. In the city, I became
tired of people looking for handouts. It was getting so expensive.
In Cooperstown, there were big, old trees, water and places you
could walk."
Staying with a friend in 1998
until becoming better situated, Duncan eventually approached
the Fenimore Art Museum staff with his portfolio. Impressed,
they encouraged him to "keep at it." He also had a
show at the Cooperstown Art Association, which "went well."
The Smithy Pioneer Gallery also featured his work. Still, Duncan
labored in jobs as a muffin-maker at The Inn at Cooperstown and
then as a lifeguard supervisor during the summer at Fairy Spring
Park in Cooperstown. He lived in a cabin there, too busy to focus
on photography, but with a vision of creating a book of Otsego
Lake photographs.
Fortunately, a "lifeguard"
of an entirely different kind had big plans for Duncan and his
"visions."
Jane Forbes Clark had seen, admired
and purchased Duncan's work in the 2000-2001 timeframe. Clark
contracted Duncan to a one-year project at The Farmers' Museum
which prominently featured his photographs to hundreds of thousands
of visitors, as well as signing him to work on the book projects.
His work would eventually also be featured at the Fenimore Art
Museum in the magnificently-detailed 2005 display "Mysteries
of the Lake: Otsego Lake...Past and Present." The show
resulted from the thousands of photographs Duncan took of Otsego
Lake from 2003-2004, from land to kayak.
"Richard's extraordinary
talent captures the beauty and spirit of the village and lake,"
said Clark. "A very good photographer knows how to capture
a scene. An extraordinary photographer captures that scene with
spirit. Richard can always make you sense the spirit of the scene,
which is extraordinary."
Duncan's contributions to the
Cooperstown book not only documented the Village of Cooperstown
in the best visual sense, but he also experienced a peak in his
career at an age when people usually look back in time at their
own professional highlights.
"This (attention) has created
a whole new world for him," said D'Ambrosio. "He loved
the village when he arrived here. The displays and books have
opened up opportunities for him to share these treasures."
Clark commented, "The books
were everything Richard, Paul (D'Ambrosio) and I hoped it would
be. We shared the same concept and philosophy behind the work."
Today, Duncan lives with his
girlfriend of eight-plus years, Pam (whom he met in Cooperstown),
in a home in the woods near the town of Milford (which borders
Cooperstown). Duncan lives where the big sky allows him to see
beyond just buildings and other distractions that impeded his
previous life, thus, creating a clearer vision for his own personal
dreams.
The newfound opportunities in
Cooperstown have also allowed him to also update his technology
by "pooling money together with Pam" to buy a Mac computer
(with Photoshop software) as well as a printer and scanner. Duncan
added, however, he "still believes in film." Duncan,
in fact, took most of his Cooperstown photos using film using
a medium format Hasselblad camera, although he now owns a digital
camera, as well.
"I have to stay up to date,"
said Duncan, adding with a slight laugh, "I didn't even
know how to use a computer a few years ago."
After the Otsego County book,
Duncan says he is not sure what the future holds. Right now,
however, he is grateful for the opportunities to help contribute
to "preserving Americana" by documenting Cooperstown
through the lens. He feels great about finally getting to use
his skills more consistently and that people have taken notice.
"In some ways, it's strange,"
said Duncan, of his newfound success. "I'm not totally ego
less, but it's not inflating me. I'm just pleased I'm utilizing
my talent. I feel like I'm at an oasis."
Want to read more about Richard Duncan? Visit his Web
Site
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