Passing of Jaromir (Jerry) Stephany, Visual Arts

April 14, 2010

To: The UMBC Community

Fr: Vin Grabill, Chair, Visual Arts

Re: Passing of Jaromir (Jerry) Stephany, Visual Arts

It is with great sadness I announce that Associate Professor Emeritus Jaromir (Jerry) Stephany, renowned photographer and popular UMBC teacher of photography, passed away April 14, while at home in Severna Park while receiving hospice care.  For the past few months, he has been suffering from complications due to a staph infection, and in recent weeks his health has declined as the condition worsened.

A member of the Department of Visual Arts faculty since 1973, Jerry served as department chair during an early period of the department’s growth.  After retiring from his position on the faculty, he continued to teach the department’s History of Photography course up until this past fall ’09 semester.  When the department grew dramatically in the 90’s, many of us coming in as tenure-track faculty relied on Jerry for his gentle wisdom and guidance.  Jerry always remained an amiable presence in the department, well-liked by students, faculty, and staff alike.

Jerry was one of several key visual arts faculty members in the 70’s and 80’s who helped set the tone for the department’s unique approach to teaching art.  It was a bold and forward-thinking decision to focus on photography and time-based media at that time, as opposed to the more traditional studio arts, when putting forward the curriculum for an undergraduate program in art.  We’re grateful for all the contributions Jerry made to the department in all the years he was a part of our community.

His work in photography over several decades is currently being celebrated with an exhibition titled Music of the Mind: Jaromir Stephany Photographs and Digital Images, and the first substantial book about his work with the same title will soon follow.  AOK Library Chief Curator Tom Beck has dedicated himself to curating and coordinating the exhibition as well as writing the book, and so I’ve selected the following passages from Tom’s recent writing in order to survey Jerry’s life:

“Jerry Stephany was born March 23, 1930 and raised in Rochester, New York, one of the world capitals of photography.  He began making photographs as a youngster during the Depression, and served in the U.S. Army during the Cold War.  He was trained as a combat photographer at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, and stationed at Rhein Main Air Force Base in Germany.  As a draftee with a camera, he fought the battle of the Officer’s Club.  (His photographs of officers and their girl friends many years later formed the basis of a satirical body of work titled “Non-War Years.”)  After military service, Jerry went to school, first to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for an undergraduate degree and then to Indiana University for a graduate degree.  His teachers were such luminaries as Minor White, Ansel Adams, and Henry Holmes Smith.  During the early 1960s he worked at George Eastman House where he assisted famed photographic historian Beaumont Newhall in teaching history of photography at RIT.  Soon Jerry took over the class, and was solely responsible for it.  He brought the students to Eastman House to see original prints in the collections there.

“Having an appreciation for students and a gift for teaching, Jerry sought and received a photography teaching position at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art.  Within two years he was asked to be chair of the Photography Department, a leadership position from which he rebuilt the department and its programs.  Six years later, he was lured away by the prospect of starting a new photography program at UMBC, the newest campus of the University of Maryland System.  Here, he designed darkrooms and set up the program; he hired faculty and staff to run and support the curriculum.  Working with the Library, he founded the nationally renowned Photography Collections, and advised the Library on establishing a gallery in which to exhibit materials from the collections.  In an effort to draw more attention to the new program, he founded the Mid-Atlantic Region of the nationally important Society for Photographic Education, and held the initial meetings at UMBC.

“Over the years, Jerry’s photographs were shown at such prestigious institutions as the George Eastman House, the Museum of Modern Art, the International Center of Photography, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and UMBC among others.  His work has been published in nationally circulating journals such as Popular Photography and Aperture.”

Tom adds, “Jerry was a remarkable and talented person whose knowledge of art, music, and life was broad and deep. He was a sage advisor and extraordinary talent who was the only artist to devote so much of his career to making clichés verre images.  He shared enthusiasm for these hand drawn works with Corot, Daubigny, Man Ray, Laszlo Moholy Nagy, and his mentor Henry Holmes Smith.
The greatest tribute that we can give for Jerry is the exhibition currently in the Library Gallery — Music of the Mind: Jaromir Stephany Photographs and Digital Images.  All may see the beauty that Jerry created.  The exhibition will be extended to June 30.  Although Jerry is gone, his art will live on for future generations to appreciate.”

In conjunction with the exhibition, a faculty-alumni panel discussion was held, April 14, at 4 p.m. in the Library Gallery.

Jerry is survived by Therese, his spouse of 53 years; son Douglas; daughter Mila Wells and her husband, Glen Wells; and grandsons Elija Goldberg and Lee Kelley.

In lieu of flowers, the Stephany family suggests contributions to the Jaromir Stephany Book Project at UMBC. Checks may be made payable to the UMBC Foundation and sent to the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, Administrative Offices, c/o Tom Beck, UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.

A campus memorial for Jerry is being planned, and we will keep the UMBC community informed.

There will also be a lecture by author Lyle Rexer who will speak about Jerry’s work on Wednesday, April 21, 4:30 p.m., at the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. Lyle Rexer is the author of numerous books and essays on art and photography, including a number that focus on Outsider Art. He has contributed feature-length articles to publications such as The New York Times, Art in America, Art on Paper and Aperture. He lives in New York.