Simcha Shirman (Hebrew: שמחה שירמן; born 1947) is a German-born Israeli photographer and educator.

Biography

Early life

Simcha Shirman was born in 1947 to Batya and David, both Holocaust survivors. He was born in Saint Ottilien Convent, which was converted by USA occupation authorities to a soldier and refugee hospital after WWII. His birth certificate states that he is a displaced person. The family immigrated to Israel in May 1948 and settled in the city of Acre. Shirman got the first camera when he was 12 - a relative from America who visited Israel gave it to him and at the age of 15 purchased and set up a photo lab in the bathroom of the small house in Acre's neighborhoods. Shirman did his military service in 1965 in the Shaked patrol unit, as an officer and commander in the patrol. In 1970, Shirman decided to go to New York to study photography. In 1972, Shirman began his undergraduate studies at the School of Visual Arts, and in 1976 continued his graduate studies at the Pratt Institute, where he studied with Arthur Fried and where he met and befriended Philip Perkis. Upon graduation in 1978 and receiving the M.F.A. in photography and art, Shirman returned to Israel with his family to the city of Tel Aviv.