Greg Stimac was born a first generation Croatian-American in Euclid, Ohio.
His interest in photography matured in Linda, California, while attending Yuba Community College (1997–2002) where he practiced traditional darkroom processes. In 2002, his work was included in the Crocker-Kingsley: California's Biennial at the Crocker Art Museum, (Sacramento, California) juried by artist Gladys Nilsson.
He relocated to Chicago to finish his undergraduate education at Columbia College (2003–2005) and found employment at both the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Croatian Ethnic Institute.[3][4][5]
From 2011–2013 Stimac attended graduate school at Stanford University.
Artistic practice
80" x 38.5", 2011, Archival Inkjet Print (Gas Station Photograph I)[6]
Stimac first gained attention for his serial photographic series titled "Recoil" (2005), a project made in collaboration with gun enthusiasts at unregulated shooting ranges in California and Missouri. Other subjects from this period include; lawn mowing, unattended campfires, urine-filled bottles at the roadside, and cars peeling out.[7][8][9][10]
In 2009 Stimac collected ephemera on plexiglass plates attached to the grill of his car between destinations, then scanned them at road-side with a flatbed scanner. This work became a series loosely referred as “Driving Photographs” and served as a departure from his traditional photographic practice. Each individual image is titled with the point and destination.[11][12]
Chicago to Atlanta, 2009, Archival Inkjet Print, 24"x30"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 2009, Archival Inkjet Print, 24"x30"Empire, 2011, Digital Video Loop
In recent work, Stimac continues to investigate myth and reality of American identity through its landscape, cultural traditions, folk heroes, and histories, with subject matter such as the Golden Spike, Old Faithful, the Flag of the United States,[13] and America's Independence Day (the 4th of July).
