A native of New York City and a graduate of UC Berkeley, Michael Putnam has traveled widely as an independent photographer in pursuit of an interest in visual anthropology. His photographs reflect an idiosyncratic vision of the layerings of time with place. Putnam’s subjects vary widely. He traveled extensively in India over a period of fifty years photographing pilgrims along the Ganges; he crisscrossed the U.S. during the time of transition from central city to mall, photographing small towns and closed small-town movie theatres; he photographed family life in Tokyo, Moscow, London and New York for the Cities Project, Cambridge, MA; and in his own city he has habitually photographed the details, from the city’s active street life to the traces of life on its fringes.
