Phenomenal Women

Three photographers, three distinct subjects, projects of conviction — developed over varying amounts of time and published under unique conditions. This was the basis for my generative and insightful conversation, hosted by the Griffin Museum of Photography. Visual Voices in Print: Three Ways to a Book was a thrill for me to moderate. In preparation as I was steeped in the uniqueness and bold intimacy of these three books, I kept hearing the refrain of Maya Angelou’s poem, Phenomenal Woman.

Each photographer successfully navigated the challenges of an ever-evolving photobook publishing landscape. Books are an expressive medium unto themselves. Books are physical, tactile, sensory, they hold content and carry purpose — they are portals and vessels of language, vision, imagination, memory, experience, fear, longing, love. They contain meaning and context. They stand witness to all the wild and wonderful and confounding aspects of living in a human body in an unfolding world.

Lydia Panas published Sleeping Beauty with MW Editions in 2021. This compilation of luscious portraits re-narrates myth with clear-eyed and intrepid knowing. Wide awake and discerning, these people own their agency, fully aware at all ages that living in a female body entails negotiating power, trust, danger, safety and love.

Karen Marshall published Between Girls with Kehrer Verlag in 2021. Her three-decade project took several iterations which were ultimately built into an interactive, multi-dimensional architectural structure including a book, video, installation and exhibition. By being in conversation with her layered subject, Marshall allowed the telling of this complex story to evolve.

Amy Touchette published Personal Ties: Bed Stuy with Schilt in 2021. By chronicling her adopted neighborhood in the throes of summer fun, Touchette affirms the tangible exchange of trust inherent in street photography. By defining preset limitations, including particular months and times of day to photograph, the use of film, and a two-frame limit, she unleashes a wonderful array of possibilities.

We discussed:

• The use of text and the brilliance of book designers to layer concepts and echo intention.

• How to fund the costs and the heavy lift, including the wonderful engagement of Kickstarter campaigns.

• The arduous and essential task of editing and sequencing, plus the welcome hawk-eye talent of a photo editor.

• The power of intuition and the agency of saying no.

I hope you are inspired to purchase and explore these profound and consequential books.