Speaking of Art with Drew Barker: The Photography of Max Waldman

Powered by Research Education at University Libraries. Speaking of Books series features free, open to the community and public talks by UMD faculty authors on their recently published work.

Max Waldman’s photography was influenced by art history. Like any decent artist, he stole inspiration from artists that came before him. Because the human form was his main subject, and because he had a bevy of artist friends, he sought to capture the struggle and intimacy depicted by the human body in theatre and dance performances during the 1960s and 70s in New York City.

Librarian Drew Barker will walk us through the visual connections between Waldman’s photography and the art history that inspired him fifty years ago. We’ll explore questions such as: Why do these archetypal visuals continue to move audiences today?

The talk will take place in the MSPAL Piano Room, which is adjacent to the new exhibit in the MSPAL gallery entitled Photography by Max Waldman curated by Drew Barker.

Drew Barker is the Performing Arts Librarian at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also earned master's degrees in Theatre and Performance Studies, and Library Science. As a dramaturg he has worked at UMD’s Fearless New Play Festivals, Triad Stage (NC), Round House Theatre (MD), Center Stage (MD), and Theatre J (DC). Most recently, he was the curator for the exhibits Photography by Max Waldman (2024-25), The Art & Craft of Puppetry (2022), Remembrance & Resilience (2021) and The Triumph of Isabella: Exploring Performance Through Art (2018-19) at the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. His service and programming involvement respectively include board membership for the Theatre Librarian Association, and the co-management of three Human Library events since 2018. His research and creative projects include playwriting, choreographic collaboration, information literacy, the U.S. Civil War, and the working relationship between playwright Naomi Wallace and historian Marcus Rediker.