Todd Hido

Todd Hido found role models in Larry Sultan and Emmet Gowin

Todd Hido was born in Kent in the US state of Ohio on 25 August 1968. He graduated from the Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1968 and then studied at the Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1991. Hido continued his tuition from 1991 and 1992 at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, and acquired his Master of Fine Arts at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California in 1996. His most important teacher during this time was the photo artist Larry Sultan (1946-2009), who became a mentor for Hido and had a great influence on the start of his career as an independent photographer. As well as Sultan, Emmet Gowin, whose work Hido greatly admired, also made a great impression, and from whom he learned a lot from afar. 

Nocturnal city views, interior spaces, and female nudes

Todd Hido became known for his city and suburb views.  The artist arrived at this signature subject during a night drive along the American West Coast when he began photographing the dark houses with their individual, illuminated windows. These pictures were used to create his book House Hunting, published in 2001. When choosing the streets and houses, the photo artist was oriented for a long time by his happy childhood in Ohio and chose only motifs only that reminded him of that time. For his book Bright Black World, he photographed various locations around the world, not to reference his memory, but rather to represent a vision of the possible future. The exterior views of individual buildings were expanded to include whole landscape scenes and interior shots, often combining the interiors with female nudes, usually professional models or actresses. 

The interpretation of the images is primarily up to the viewer

Todd Hido says about himself that he photographs like a documentalist, but he prints his pictures like a painter. By this he means that while he only uses his lens to capture what he actually finds on location, he makes extensive use of his artistic freedom in the darkroom or on the computer to influence the mood of the final image. He prefers to photograph his subjects at dusk, which holds a special charm with its transition from light to dark. What the artist appreciates about women, on the other hand, is that they convey a vulnerability and emotionality that he hardly ever finds in male models. Todd Hido does not add any text to his pictures which contain explanations or comments. Every interpretation of his artwork is left completely to the viewer. Even his many photo books, in which he values the permanence that distinguishes his printed publications from ephemeral social media feeds, largely manage without accompanying texts. 

Todd Hido lives and works in San Francisco.