Phillip Hofstetter ~ Photographer Antiqua

Temple of Inscriptions - 

         Mesa Redonda 1993

photo by Phillip Hofstetter

Today, August 5, is the birthday of Phillip Hofstetter, a photographer of ruins of ancient civizations. His images are moody, dramatic and beautiful. His series of 360º panoramas of Maya ruins are astonishing (link below).           

His photographic journal of Maya ruins began from work with art historian, archaeologist, Merle Green Robertson at Palenque, southern Mexico and field work at the Yaxuná Project and at Chunchucmil, both in the Yucatán. He has designed new media documentation at the Kiuic Project in the Puuc hills and for the El Perú Project in the Petén, Guatemala.       

      

In 2006 and 2007 he expanded his photographic work to cityscapes and ancient archaeological sites in the Mediterranean basin. His most recent museum exhibition shows panoramas of both Maya and Greek ruins from Turkey to Sicily, from Guatemala to Yucatán.

Maya Yucatán: An Artist's Journey, features his spectacular images that document the beauty of the ancient sites of Yucatán and the enduring character of the Maya people that still inhabit the region. It was published by the University of New Mexico Press with a forward by David Freidel and available through Alibris (link below).  

Maya Yucatán: An Artist's Journey 

by Phillip Hofstetter 

Hofstetter has also had a career in the arts with various work in the theater, documentary television, and major stints at San Francisco Bay Area art museums. As a multimedia and video producer for archaeological excavations in Yucatán, his television and multimedia work has appeared on National Geographic television and the Discovery Channel.

For several years he with his wife, Nina Horn (link below), was one of the organizers of Pearl Harbor Day, an annual event held on December 7th at 7 PM. The event commemorated the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941 at 7 AM. During the event artists of varying disciplines would stage "Sneak Attacks" which consisted of songs, poems, dance routines, recitations of events or anything else he or she wanted to perform. No one knew the "attack" was going to happen; everything was unscripted and ran from emotional to completely wacky. It was tons of fun.
     

Hofstetter was lighting designer for the Obiko fashion shows from 1982 to 1996. The store was a San Francisco art-to-wear clothing boutique owned and operated by Sandra Sakata. 

Hofstetter was born in Murphy's, a mining town in Calaveras County, California. Like many other mining towns, the town was destroyed three times by flames, in 1859, 1874, and 1893. The town is registered as California Historical Landmark #275.   

Viewfinder links:         

         
Philip Hofstetter articles                          
Phillip Hofstetter ~ 360º panoramas   
Nina Horn & the Orinda Theater                     
            

Net links:         

         

Phillip Hofstetter website     
Phillip Hofstetter Exhibtions          
Phillip Hofstetter twitter     
Proyecto Arqueológico Waka'       
D Magazine ~ David Freidel and His Search for Mayan Treasure 
Visit With a Person of High Strangeness ~    
               Tomb Of Maya Queen K’abel      

Maya Yucatán: An Artist's Journey review       

Maya Yucatán: An Artist's Journey on Alibris     

           
    

     

Happy birthday, Phil! 

    

Styrous® ~ Saturday, August 5, 2017  

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