User:Ajones978/DUANE CRAMER

DUANE CRAMER
Duane Cramer (born in 1962) is an African American portrait photographer from Indiana. Internationally known and iagnosed with AIDS in 1996, Cramer often uses his works to spread awareness about the disease, advocating “on behalf of HIV awareness, prevention education, and social justice”. His work now includes portraits of everyone from former United-States presidents, to social marketing campaigns to help fight HIV/AIDS.

Biography
Cramer was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1962. A defining moment in his life was loosing his father, Joe J. Cramer, Jr. PhD to AIDS in 1986, a fact that his family had attempted to keep quiet out of shame. When the younger Cramer was later diagnosed as HIV-Positive, he initially had not openly discussed his disease with the public, still believing it to be shameful. Today, he is well known for his photography-based HIV awareness visuals, and particularly for his efforts in the African-American community, which has been disproportionately affected by HIV.

Having been exposed to art from an early age, Cramer began to work in advertising and founded Duane Cramer Creative. He later switched to work as a freelance photographer. He received a B.B.A in Marketing from the University of Southern California.

Alongside fashion editorials, media campaigns, and portraiture, he has photographed countless well-known subjects including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Academy and Grammy Award winning artists, and various Olympians. After being diagnosed with AIDS in 1996, he began to focus his efforts raising awareness about the disease and those who suffer from it.

Significance
Cramer has chosen to devote his life to helping individuals who suffer from the disease and uses his work to tell their stories to others. In doing so, he has become a positive role model for many black and gay americans who have suffered from the disease. He works to encourage healthy lifestyles and adherence to prescribed medications, honest and open communication with medical professionals about symptoms and side effects, and to overall prevent HIV from negatively impacting their lives.

His photographs have been featured in many different publications, among which include notable sources, such as British GQ, to Vibe, OUT, New York Times, and Harper's Bazaar. Not only has he used photography to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, he has become a prominent member of the San Francisco LGBTQ community. He was co-chair for the Millenium March on Washington for Equality in 2000, has donated a lot of time to the Black AIDS Institute, the AIDS Memorial Project's National School Quilt, NAMES project chapters and The Balm.

Not only has he overcome a major obstacle, he has come out stronger and continues to use his talents to effect positive change in the world around him.

Contributions to AIDS Awareness and Prevention
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Developed and photographed for "Testing Makes Us Stronger" Campaign

Board Member for Names Project Foundation

Contributor to Greater Than AIDS and “Love Your Life – Keep it 100 NYC

Founding member on the board of directors of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center

Vice President on the board of directors of Frameline

Collaborator with Mondo Guerra on Project I Design

Co-chair for the Millenium March on Washington for Equality

Galleries and exhibitions
2017 Stonewall Museum Body Work: The Art of the Male Form

2007 Good Vibrations Gallery Light+Dark: Tones of Sensuality

2006 Flotation Center and Art Gallery

Awards
Living Legend Award, July 2012, Black Leadership Commission on AIDS

“Living Out Loud” Role-model, February 3, 2012

AIDS Through an Artist’s Eyes, OUT Magazine, December 2009

Heroes in the Struggle Honor, Black AIDS Institute, June 2006

Emerging Artist of the Year, OUT Magazine, December 2005

Advocate Top 10 Celebrity Bachelors, February 2004

Similar Artists
Gordon Parks

Herb Ritts