Born in Detroit in 1960, Mark was rased by lithuanian parents. His mother was a model and his father worked in GM’s styling department. His family moved to Chicago when Mark was ten where he discovered photography and began assisting commercial photographers after high school he attended northern illinois university, university of illinois and columbia college. Where mark received a BA in photography.

After college, Mark worked as a commercial photographer in Chicago for two years before moving to Los Angeles in 1986. There Mark built a reputation for award-winning work for a long ust of clients. His photography was featured iii campaigns for clients as diverse as Adidas, Mercedes-benz. Visa, van cleef and arpels for ten years apple computer used Mark’s photography in the campaigns to introduce apple’s imac, ipod and other computer devices. He was also selected to shoot the campaign to introduce BMW’s mini in 2001.

In 2010, stiedl published Mark’s first book of non-commercial work, created equal, which was an eight year long, cross-country project featuring portraits of americans from a wide array of cultures, occupations and backgrounds. His second book, Sea, a collection of images of marine animals was published by abrams in 2011. His third book Serpentine. Will be published in late 2012. His work has been exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and Europe, including Fahey/Klein gallery in Los Angeles, Camera Work in Berlin and Three Punts Galleria in Barcelona.

For more please visit artist’s website

In America, the chasm between rich and poor is growing, the clash between conservatives and liberals is strengthening, and even good and evil seem more polarized than ever before. At the heart of this collection of portraits is my desire to remind us that we were all equal, until our environment, circumstances or fate molded and weathered us into whom we have become. Los Angeles- and New York-based photographer Mark Laita completed Created Equal over the course of eight years; his poignant words reflect the striking polarizations found in his photographs. Presented as diptychs, the images explore social, economic and gender difference and similarity within the United States, emulating and updating the portraiture of Edward Curtis, August Sander and Richard Avedon. This volume includes an introduction by noted culture writer and editorial cult figure Ingrid Sischy.

 

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