Donald Roger Snyder (1934–2010) was an American photographer and multimedia artist known for his extensive documentation of the 1960s counterculture. Raised on Coney Island, he began his career as a teenage darkroom worker before developing a distinct style that blended high-fashion photography with radical avant-garde art. Snyder became a prominent figure in the psychedelic movement, capturing iconic images of figures like Timothy Leary and documenting scenes in Haight-Ashbury and Woodstock. His work often explored themes of light, special effects, and multimedia installations, including slide-glass paintings and experimental films. He taught at the School of Visual Arts from 1974 to 1980. His career was significantly impacted by a severe automobile accident in 1980, which led to a more reclusive period before his death in 2010.[1,2,3]
Aquarian Odyssey: A Photographic Trip into the Sixties1979 · Liveright / W.W. Norton · book · EnglishISBN 087140639XPrimary work documenting the hippie era.
Don Snyder's World of Photography1967 · Whitestone · book · EnglishIllustrated his innovations in lighting and special effects.
Coney Island Inferno1948 · photography seriesFirst photographic opus consisting of over 24,000 black and white photos.
Exhibitions
1987Coney Island ComebackMunicipal Art Society of New York, New York Citygroup
1986Television's Impact on Contemporary ArtQueens Museum, New York Citygroup
1977Magic Circle ExhibitionBronx Museum of the Arts, New York Citygroup
References
Don Snyder Biography. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 2024 link
