Focusing exclusively on men of color, my ongoing artistic challenge is to photograph these men in a manner that is not objectified.  I endeavor to lay bare the elemental nature of each man’s intelligence, strength, and essence in an open way, without fear.  In some instances, social symbolism and visual commentary act as an adjunct to the men in my images.  My work addresses present day issues from a variety of directions.  Whether showing the purity of nudity, the union of man and nature, or pointing up dogmatic elements of society, the man remains the central focus of a picture where less is more.

My fine art photography appears in many solo and groups shows, and in collections both private and public including The San Francisco Museum of the African Diaspora, The Center for Fine Art Photography, The Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation, and The Tom of Finland Foundation.

Selected Exhibitions 2000-2011 (*Solo Shows)

* Always by Design Gallery "Modern Slave" Philadelphia, PA
The Bike Stop, Philadelphia, PA
New Hope Sidetracks Art Gallery, New Hope, PA
Gulf Coast Archive and Museum, Houston, TX
Campbell Soady Gallery, New York, NY
The MALE Center, Boston, MA
The William Way Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
SDLP, San Diego, CA
IU Northwest Contemporary Gallery, Gary, IN
Art Association of Harrisburg, Harrisburg, PA
The Showcase School of Photography, Atlanta.GA
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Bloomington, IN
A Novel Experience, Zebulon, GA
The Herron Gallery, Indianaplois, IN
Peninsula Museum of Art, Belmont, CA
* Willendorf, Vienna, Austria
Mark Nelson Enterprises online, New York, NY
ArtSpace, New York, NY
Tangent Gallery / Hastings Street Ballroom, Detroit, MI
The Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
GMSMA, New York, NY
The Darkroom Studios, Merchantville, NJ, juried.
Florida International University, Miami, FL
* DownStares Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
13th Annual Black History Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
Bridges Gallery Online - Fine Art Photography, Harrisburg, PA
* Bear Café of New York City, New York, NY
Bridges Gallery - Fine Art Photography, Harrisburg, PA
Riches, New Hope, PA
* Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL
Leslie-Lohman Art Gallery, New York City, NY, Juried Show

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Lectures

Allure, Desire and the African-American Model, lecture at The Center, New York, NY

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Public Collections

National Museum of African American History and Culture Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Bloomington, IN
The Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA
Bridges Gallery, Harrisburg, PA
The Center for Fine Art Photography at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Fort Collins, CO
David Springle, David Aden Gallery, Venice Beach, CA
Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation, New York City, NY
The Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

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Private Collections

Charles W. Leslie, Founder and President of the Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation, New York, NY
John Amaechi, 1999-2000 NBA All-Interview First Team

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Commercial Representation

GMSMA, New York, NY; 2008
The Freak Files Anthology, New York, NY; 2008
Public Service Announcement, "Health Intervention Advisors, Washington metro region, 2008
The NY LGBT Center, New York, NY; 2008
HUMP Podcast promotional, New York, NY; 2008
GMSMA, New York, NY; 2006
Mark Nelson Enterprises online, New York, NY; 2006
Village Lighthouse, Inc., Los Angeles, CA; 2006
Village Lighthouse, Inc., Los Angeles, CA; 2005
Village Lighthouse, Inc. , Los Angeles, CA; 2004
Darkroom Studios, Mechantville, NJ; 2004

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Bibliography (*Reviews)

* TheArtBlog, July 30, 2011
* Leslie Lohman Foundation Recommends, June/July 2011
* AxD Gallery, June 2011
* Tom of Finland Foundation News, June 4, 2011
* PGN, June 10, 2011
* PW – Philadelphia Weekly, June 22, 2011
* G Philly, June 22, 2011
* PW – Philadelphia Weekly,July 13, 2011
* The CityPaper Newsletter, July 14, 2011
* Cover story - PW – Philadelphia Weekly,July 13 - 19, 2011
* The CityPaper Philadelphia, #1363, July 14 - 20, 2011
QueerTimes, July 29, 2011
AAH News, Harrisburg, PA, Summer 2011
Courier Post (South Jersey), July 12, 2009
* "Confessions Of A Male Erotic Photographer", Rodney Washington, April, 2008
* The UnZipped Calendar Awards, Los Angeles, CA, December 2007
* "JD Dragan: A Photographer And His Process", Rodney Washington, October, 2007
* "JD Dragan: Passion in Black and White - Part 2", Rodney Washington, June, 2007
* "JD Dragan: Passion in Black and White - Part 1", Rodney Washington, June, 2007
* GBMNews, June, 2007
Homokunst II, Berlin, Germany
Rainbow.at, jd dragan - photographien
Vienna Gay News, COXX, Ausgaben 5/2007
* Black Male Nudes, Lambda Nachrichten, HOSI, 2.2007, März/April, Nr. 116, 29.Jarrg.
* Incubus' Choice, "Close Up On…", February, 2007
* "The Fine Art of Photography...The naked truth about JD Dragan," MyCliqo.com, Winter 2007
* Gaydar Magazine, Winter 2007
Flesh 4 Men, San Diego, CA, Fall/Winter 2006
BLUE+ Magazine, Studio Magazines, East Sydney  NSW, Australia, November 2006
Erotic Art in the News, "Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, October 2006
*Incubus' Choice, JD Dragan, March 31, 2006
Du & Ich, Berlin, Germany, Dezember 2005/Januar 2006
* rod2.0:beta blog, Provocateur Black, September 02, 2005
* Philadelphia CityPaper, Mixpicks, September 1 - 7, 2005
* Fleshbot web magazine, February 24, 2005
* rod2.0:beta blog, BODYBUILDERS ... Kai and Theo Moore, shot by JD Dragan, June 28, 2005
AAH News, Harrisburg, PA, May/June2005
AAH News, Harrisburg, PA, March/April 2005
Photo Review, Philadelphia, PA, Volume 27, Issue 2, 2004
"Foundation in the News, "Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, June 2004
* Gay City News, New York, NY, May 27 - June 2, 2004
The Male in Camera, Pelican Press, Sarasota, FL, January 9, 2003
* Natasha Gerhart, Sarasota Herald Tribune, January 3, 2003
* Tim Cameresi, South West Florida Business Guild, Sarasota, FL, December 2002

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