As an undergraduate studio art major at the University of Georgia, Michael Stipe (born 1960) studied photography and painting before leaving school upon the formation of R.E.M., the band for which he served as frontman and singer/songwriter until its dissolution in 2011. The sensibility that he began to develop during his time as an art student transferred to the spectrum of his work for R.E.M., from art directing all graphic, video and stage design, to writing, composing and performance, and his iconoclastic personal style. Michael Stipe has published four monographs to date with Damiani: Volume 1 (2018), Our Interference Times: a visual record (2019), Michael Stipe (2021), Even the birds gave pause (2023).
"Stipe's employ of light and dark and seemingly disparate elements, together with photographic harmonies, results in alluring visions.--Steven Heller ""PRINT"""