The Lens

Our America has become more complicated as of late. Beyond the baseball fields, big college dreams, and idealized bootstrap philosophy that captures our attention, is a socio-economic ecology that is more honest than aspirational. When we talk about capturing America, we must include both sides of the American dream: the utopia of success and the frustration of everyday life. Photography has a unique way of allowing us to hold onto a moment in time. By sharing those images and exploring the perspective of both the subject and the photographer, we can better understand what it means to be an American. We’ll be closing our October... Continue reading Photographing the American Dream

Kurland, known for portraits of fringe America, will replace Katy Grannan among Second Century symposium’s lineup of featured speakers Cincinnati, OH – FotoFocus’s Second Century: Photography, Feminism, Politics symposium, taking place at Memorial Hall on Saturday, October 7, 2017, has added Justine Kurland as one of its keynote speakers. Kurland is replacing Katy Grannan, who is no longer able to participate due to a physical injury. Born in Warsaw, New York, Kurland is known for her photographs of utopian landscapes and of people who live on the fringes of mainstream America. Following in the photographic lineage of Robert Frank and Sally Mann, Kurland uses the... Continue reading FotoFocus Adds Landscape Photographer Justine Kurland as Keynote Speaker

When you share an image, are you sharing it as a woman? As a person with a disability? What about as a civil rights advocate? Your art is a part of who you are and how you chose to express yourself reflects the sum total of your identity. Intersectionality is a powerful concept. First coined by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in the early 1980’s, the framework allows us to explore how our experiences of gender, race, sexual orientation, and disability affect our lives. When we share those experiences, we can’t separate who we are from our circumstance. Our digital and creative world is a complicated... Continue reading The Ties That Bind Us: How Photography Unifies the Female Progressive Movement

What, if anything, does it mean to be a woman photographer? Cincinnati will soon have a chance to explore the topic during the 2:00pm panel of the Second Century: Photography, Feminism, Politics symposium on October 7, 2017 at Memorial Hall. The panel, “Woman with a Camera,” will reconsider the work of historical figures such as Berenice Abbott and Diane Arbus, as well as reflect on the contemporary practice of artists such as Anne Collier and Zoe Leonard, probing the paradoxes of the term “woman photographer”.  With viewpoints from art historians, professors, artists and writers, we will analyze the personal narratives that accompany and complicate the... Continue reading Symposium Panel Considers the Common Trope of a Woman with a Camera

What defines the term “women’s film”, and what does it look like to explore the complexities and limitations of the category? This topic will be addressed, specifically within the framework of Latin American films made by women in the panel discussion Women of Latin American Film, part of the Second Century: Photography, Feminism, Politics symposium on October 7, 2017. Two aspects of “women’s film” will be explored: the oversimplified terms of the definition itself, i.e., women writing and directing their own stories; and a less obvious subject, the development of an audience which recognizes women’s voices as distinct based on their female authorship. With perspectives from... Continue reading Examining the Complexities of Women’s Film