BIOGRAPHY:
Born in Leonard, Texas on May 11th 1936. First seven
years lived on a cotton farm outside of Leonard, located
in the black belt land of eastern Texas. Family moved to
Detroit during WW2. His father, Fred Hoyt Turner was a
labor leader in the auto union. His mother, Mary Ella
Turner, also worked in the auto factories, and later was
a social worker. He has two sisters. Nona Jean, an older
sister, and Gladys Jo, the younger sister. His mother and
sisters and extended family reside in Detroit,
Michigan.
Alwyn grew up on
the lower east side of Detroit. At the age of 18 he
entered the United States Air Force and worked in many
fields, and was base photographer and editor of the base
newspaper. He was stationed in Watertown, New York
located upstate near the Thousand Islands, and in St.
Johnsbury, Vermont, located on the Conneticut River,
across from New Hampshire.
While stationed in
the mountains near North Concord, Vermont, he married
Frederika Ann Badger. After his discharge from the
service, he moved back to Detroit , studied art at The
Society of Arts and Crafts College, and as an artist had
three one man exhibitions - in scupture, painting and
drawing. He also worked as a Special Investigator for a
large insurance company. During that time, three children
were born: Dean Shields, Gregory Mansfield, and Nicole
Melissa. Before leaving Detroit in 1970, he was Managing
Editor of the U.S.Publishing Co., a syndicate of ten
newspapers in the Detroit area, and was Editor &
Publisher of Michigan News, a statewide weekly newspaper,
and owned and published The Detroit Magazine - a monthly
city journal.
Alwyn left Detroit
in 1970 to concentrate on: THE AMERICAN PEOPLE a
long-range documentary project. For a period of time, as
a photojournalist, he worked on special assignment for
Time-Life, Esquire, Look, and other national magazines,
including a cover photograph and story for TIME Magazine
on Middle-Class Black America. He received a Guggenhiem
Fellowship in 1973 and two National Endowment Awards
toward the continuation of his documentary project on THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
He has had a one-man exhibition in the Museum of Modern
Art in New Orleans. Portfolios of his work are in the
permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New
York, New Orleans, and elsewhere.
eMail:photo@documentaryphotography.com
