Background

Michael William Semak was born on January 9, 1934, in Welland, Ontario, Canada.

Education

Michael Semak graduated from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, Canada, in 1958, having studied architectural technology.

Career

Michael Semak has taught at York University, Toronto, since 1969, and prior to that freelanced for ten years.

Achievements

• Michael Semak won a Province of Ontario Council for the Arts grant in 1972, the Award of Excellence in Photojournalism from Pravda/Moscow in both 1972 and 1970; and the Arts Award Canada Council grant in 1971.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Image Four Ghana: If This Is the Time 1969
  • If this is the time 1969
  • Monograph (Impressions) 1974

Connections

mentor:

Lorraine Monk

Michael Semak received technical training at Kodak in Toronto, where his mentor was Lorraine Monk.

References

• Michael Semak Taken in the 1960s and early 1970s, Semak's photographs of the socially marginalized are intense visual expressions that combine documentary modes of presentation with a strongly subjective approach.
  2015