Michael Silver

American, 1947 - 2004

BiographyMichael Silver,is the photographer of the work in your collection. he was born in 1947 and died in 2004. He was an eccentric, immensely talented, artist. I first was drawn to his "sushi" prints -- works of art on handmade paper that incorporated japanese seaweed and photography and hand painting. that was in the latter part of the 1980's. john cage was attracted to his work in philadelphia, i believe, and michael photographed him -- to cage's delight -- and used the image in different forms in different photographs. michael also photographed bones, eggs, layered photos of friends, etc. he had been a chef at the gardiner museum in boston. he lived a bohemian life (often in the basement of friends' homes) and was an incurable romantic. he did not accept his chronological age and loved being with young people. he applied and was admitted (perhaps four years ago) to the school of the museum of fine arts, boston. if i remember correctly, he also became a ta there. his art took a direction away from photography, when he became involved in creating environments of sound/no sound for sensory reactions ,which he always believed were still in the realm of fine art. he never thought of making a living doing what he liked most, but his portable work always found buyers who recognized the freshness of his images. one of his prints is included in the cage portfolio of prints, and several museums have examples of his work. at the graduation ceremonies of the museum of fine arts several months ago, when his name was called, i am told, the entire student body stood up to cheer. he received his degree posthumously. he was an extraordinary thinker and artist and i'm very pleased that you were given an example of his work. i'm sure the mfa would be able to fill you in with more details. we are not a contemporary gallery, but michael was pleased to be shown along with rembrandt, picasso, matisse, durer, etc. we always thought he belonged. all good wishes. marilyn pink

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