About
Michael Mandel is a Part-Time Lecturer at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University, teaching photography to BA/BS students on the Medford Campus. His work critically examines photographic imagery within popular culture, drawing from archives, advertising, and public records. Collaborating with Larry Sultan (1977–2000s) and later his wife Chantal Zakari, Mandel has produced influential works like *Evidence* (1977) and *Lockdown Archive* (2015). Known for large-scale public art installations using glass/ceramic mosaics, his practice bridges conceptual photography with socio-political commentary.
Research interests include archival deconstruction, institutional critique, and the intersection of art with contemporary events. Major projects address themes like U.S. military interventions (*They Came to Baghdad*), Turkish secularism (*The State of Ata*), and public surveillance (*Lockdown Archive*). His self-published artist books from the 1970s, reissued as *Good 70s* (2015), remain foundational in conceptual photography.
