PHOTO-ACTIVE

FEMINIST VISITING ARTISTS

1998-99 SERIES

Sponsored by: National Endowment for the Arts and The University of Michigan School of Art and Design and Women's Studies Program

Coordinated by: Carol Jacobsen and Joanne Leonard


Doherty Sisters, from Irish Travellers.

Copyright Paula Allen

Road to Aguilares, from El Salvador, 1983.

Copyright Susan Meiselas

New Category: Mother/Daughter Relationships, 1994.

Copyright Connie Samaras

Accused Blowtorch Padlock (1987).

Copyright Pat Ward Williams

Witness: Photo/Graphic/Acts, 1992.

Copyright Kathy Constantinides

Image from I Dreamt I Had A Girl In My Pocket

Copyright Wendy Ewald

From Father/Daughter Series

Copyright Marilyn Zimmerman

It's a Small World1987

Copyright Barbara Kruger

 

 

 

1998-1999 Series

 

University of Michigan students in Carol Jacobsen's "Photo-Active Feminist Artists" courses are documenting the visits of eight female activist photographers. Artists Paula Allen, Susan Meiselas, Connie Samaras, Pat Ward-Williams, Kathy Constantinides, Wendy Ewald, Marilyn Zimmerman and Barbara Kruger traveled to Michigan from both coasts this Fall to present their work to students and the public as part of a two semester project sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts.

As socially active artists, Allen, Meiselas, Samaras, Ward-Williams, Constantinides, Ewald, Zimmerman, and Kruger connect photographic representation with feminist agendas by addressing and documenting such issues as violence against women, stereotypical representations of women in the mass media, women's labor and lifestyles, and issues of difference among women; i.e. race. ethnicity and sexual identity. As social and political activists, they call attention, through their artwork, to women's issues that have remained in the shadows of society for centuries.

Students organized, publicized and documented the visits of these eight women through interviews, photography, video, and other resource materials. They arranged and hosted community events ranging from a book signing to discussions with various local and political groups including Amnesty International, Focus Hope, Common Language Books, The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, The Heidelberg Project, The Detroit Art Institute, and several Michigan colleges. The series ends in Spring of 1999 with the production of a public catalogue that presents information about these artists, their work, and their visits to the University of Michigan.

 

 

School of Art and Design Home Page| Women's Studies Home Page| Paula Allen| Susan Meiselas| Connie Samaras| Pat Ward Williams| Kathy Constantinides| Wendy Ewald| Marilyn Zimmerman| Barbara Kruger| Credits