Reframings: New American Feminist Photographies [Paperback]

Diane Neumaier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 1998

This diverse and compelling collection of contemporary feminist visual art is now available in a paperback edition. "Reframings" makes visible what has been for too long nearly invisible: contemporary feminist visual art that represents a remarkable range of perspectives, styles, and subject matter. The forty-five women who created these works-artists and writers such as Deborah Willis, Carrie Mae Weems, Nan Goldin, and Carm Little Turtle-are connected by a belief that images are political and that today's feminist concerns cannot be separated from such issues as ethnicity, class, age, and sexuality. They share a consciousness that historically women have been "framed" and can now be "reframed." Diane Neumaier is Associate Professor of Visual Arts at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Some of the 45 women artists presented here are well known (e.g., Nan Goldin, Susan Meiselas, Anne Noggle, Cindy Sherman, and Carrie Mac Weems), but most of them will be new to followers of contemporary photography. Most of the essayists will be new as well, though Lucy R. Lippard, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, and Deborah Willis Braithwaite are included. The book is organized according to feminist issues or themes: sexuality and body image, family and domestic life, advertising and consumerism, cultural and sexual identities, women in the workforce, and the relationship between photographer and subject (sometimes the same person). A common belief among the contributors is that photographic images are inherently political and that too many photographs of women "frame" them as idealized, impersonal, or weak. These photographers attempt to "reframe" women in positions of power and authority or to present images that aim to shock us into confronting the reality of women's roles in society. While the quality of the writing and reproductions is uneven, this book would be a valuable addition to collections of contemporary photography or women's studies.?Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Reframings makes a tremendous contribution to the field of photography, art, and feminist theory. There is a definite need to reflect on the representation of women through the eyes of feminist artists and critics and probe issues in new and provocative ways-this book does just that. The multiple perspectives and voices of these women ensure an incredibly rich and diverse analysis of what is 'American' and what is 'feminism.'" --Constance Wolf, Associate Director, Whitney Museum of American Art "This path breaking book unmasks a key artist movement long neglected by the photography establishment: the canonbusting contribution of feminist photographers over the past decade. Besides providing a comprehensive look at the seldom seen work of over 30 artists, this volume constitutes a major intervention into the discourse of photography criticism. Diane Neumaier and her stellar cast of critics and artists supply the missing pieces in the puzzle of postmodernism." --Brian Wallis, contributing editor, Art in America "This is an ambitious, exceptional book in its scope, breadth, and inclusiveness... Neumaier does not shy away from the difficult questions that conflicting interpretations present. Instead she embraces a diversity of opinion and, at times, conflicting points of view to explore a wide range of American feminist issues and experiences." --Choice "Providing visibility to feminist photographers and theorists, and emphasizing the interrelation of the two, Reframings expands the parameters of feminist discourse, while at the same time collecting a canon to which scholars might refer in the future." --afterimage

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Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (August 4, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566393329
• ISBN-13: 978-1566393324
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,525,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Margaret Stratton's photographs document the ephemeral remains that define personal and cultural histories. Her work contemplates memories and events as relics that trace the transmission of violence, loss and absence. Her work consists of excerpts of evidence from relationships known and unknown and intuitive and timeless images that commemorate interior spaces. Through this process she has created a diverse body of work for which she has been awarded five National Endowment for the Arts Awards in three categories: Photography, Installation and New Genre. Other awards include a Seattle Arts Commission "Public Works" Award, Best New Film/Video of 1995 from the Canadian Film Board, and Directors Award from The Black Maria Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Exhibited nationally and internationally, Stratton's work has been shown at: Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York, NY; The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; The Corcoran Gallery, Washington D.C; The Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge, MA; The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; The American Museum of Art in Minneapolis, MN: The Berlin Film Festival, Berlin; Camerawork, San Francisco, CA, and The Henry Gallery, Seattle, WA.

Her collections include Ellis Island Museum, Ellis Island, New York; Center for Creative Photography, Tucson; George Eastman House, International Center for Photography and Film; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; Chicago Art Institute; TIAA/CREF; New York Historical Society, The Library of Congress, Washington D.C.: London Video Archive, England; Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, Washington, and Collection Dancing Bear: WM Hunt, New York.

Her publications include: Resurrecting the Neapolitan Cult of the Skull, Center for American Places, University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, Here Is New York: A Democracy of Photography, 2002, Harper's Magazine, 2001, Contact Sheet #110, Detained In Purgatory, Light Work, Syracuse NY, 2000, Lesbian Art In America, Rizzoli Press, 2000, Art, Document, Market, Science: Photography's Multiple Roles, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, 1998, and Reframings: New Feminist Photographies, Temple University Press, 1996.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, February 21, 2004

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Laura Robinson (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reframings: New American Feminist Photographies (Paperback)

Reframings is an excellent book for the woman artist in search of the meaning of self-representation and how she can be empowered by it. The book did an excellent job of giving a well rounded view of what was going on in the year that it was published, including women from many walks of life, expressing many uniquely feminine views.