Stephen DiRado is a professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department, Clark University. He is a photographer and filmmaker whose art is primarily inspired by his captivation and admiration for the people in his community. His scrupulously skilled photographs portray the underlying intimacy of individuals and the interactions within group dynamics. His films are narratives and commentaries about the people in his life. Working within this genre, he has produced numerous portfolios: Past works include his Bell Pond Series, Mall Series, Dinner Series and JUMP. His present work includes, With Dad, Martha’s Vineyard Series, Celestial Series, In the Present Day, and Across the Table. His independent films include With Dad, Summer Spent and JUMP. The internationally prized Bob and Diane Fund awarded DiRado support the book With Dad published by Davis Publications in 2019. DiRado is a six-time recipient of major fellowships that include the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Massachusetts Artist Foundation and a NEFA/NEA Fellowship. His work is published around the world in books and magazines and can be found in museum permanent collections across the USA, including the MFA, Boston and MFA, Houston. He also has been featured in the Washington Post, The New Yorker, NPR, Black and White Photography magazine, Business Insider, and Vice Magazine. The doc-film With Dad, a collaboration with filmmaker Soren Sorensen is a six-time award winning film including New York City Independent Film Festival and Massachusetts Independent Film Festival Best Documentary Short.
With Dad, 2020, a 30-minute documentary film, director/producer Soren Sorensen. A narrative history, Stephen DiRado talking about the project With Dad; twenty years documenting his father succumbing to Alzheimer’s.
Summer Spent is a 2012, 38-minute documentary film. It highlights photographer Stephen DiRado over a five-year period living with and photographing the subculture of a clothing-optional-beach on Martha’s Vineyard. It is also a whimsical and existential film about DiRado’s struggle to hold onto his identify and purpose as an artist.
Across the Table, 2019, is a 3-minute silent short, music by composer Matt Malsky. A humorous film that deconstructs Stephen DiRado’s collaborative process in creating a narrative that emphasizes the tempo of activities of friends and family sharing drink, food and conversation around the table.
JUMP, 2016, is a 21-minute silent documentary film, music composed by Matt Malsky. Stephen DiRado films and painstakingly edits together a montage of people jumping off of a bridge located on Martha’s Vineyard. The result is a lyrical and intimate film depicting a vast community of beach goers participating in this summer ritual.
Link to Summer Spent Trailer: https://youtu.be/T3drgZgJcH8
Link to JUMP: https://youtu.be/cxSuEcS1k6A
Link to With Dad: https://www.wgbh.org/program/with-dad/with-dad