Women, and the History of Photography

May 16, 2010 1:28 PM

Clio Visualizing History seeks to illustrate the unique role of visual images in American history. That history is rich with images taken by women, and of women. Frances Benjamin Johnston photographed a diverse sample of Americana from politicians to mine workers, socialites to factory women, and public institutions. She was a peer of many, including Gertrude Käsebier and the Allen sisters.

If you find yourself in New York this year, the Museum of Modern Art is presenting a collection: Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography. No collection would be complete without Dorothea Lange, and her visualizing what the Great Depression looked like. Other women photographers of note in the MoMA exhibit include Ilse Bing, Dora Maar, Germaine Krull, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus, and Lisette Model.

posted by netbros (3 comments total)

Nice pictures. But the Clio site has prose to make you weep:

As technologies of duplication improved and the costs of reproduction were reduced, artists assumed a larger role in the planning and formatting of pictorial histories. This privileging implied a new pedagogical purpose for visual images–one that went beyond the mere embellishing of texts to a celebration of images as texts.

No wonder contemporary students shun the humanities.
posted by Faze at 1:53 PM on May 16, 2010

I'm only halfway through the very first exhibition and biography, of Frances Benjamin Johnston, and it's absolutely fascinating. (AndFWIW, the narrative is very well written.)

Thank you.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:59 PM on May 16, 2010

Thank you for this. I had been considering a post on Johnston for some time so this is wonderful. In the interest of LGBT history, may I suggest tags for "lesbian" or "LGBT?"
posted by Morrigan at 8:28 PM on May 16, 2010