Gibson's photographs are included in over 170 museum collections around the world, and have appeared in hundreds of one man exhibitions. According to ArtDaily: "For Gibson, photography isn't about capturing a special event or a certain moment but about making the most insignificant subject into a work of art".

Ralph Gibson was born in Hollywood, California in 1939. His father was assistant director to A.Hitchcock and as a young boy he would visit the set during filming. He also worked extra and acted in bit parts. He was impressed by the power of the camera lens and the intensity of the lights. He studied photography while in the US Navy and then at the San Francisco Art Institute. He began his professional career as an assistant to Dorothea Lange and went on to work with Robert Frank on two films. Gibson has maintained a lifelong fascination with books and book-making. Since the appearance in 1970 of THE SOMNAMBULIST, his work has been steadily impelled towards the printed page.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx