Lisa Lindvay (by Elyssa Marcus)

Lisa Lindvay has recently done a series of family portraits.  They are not traditional because they show the disconnection in her family since her mother has been sick "(deteriorating mental state.)"  The subjects are her two brothers, sister, and Father.  Lindvay's collection explains the correlation between her mother's absence and her families well-being.

Lindvay explains "This is an exploration of how an individual identity is shaped and altered by one's familial relationship."

© Lisa Lindvay
© Lisa Lindvay
© Lisa Lindvay
© Lisa Lindvay

 

Susan Anderson: High Glitz (by Elyssa Marcus)

High Glitz: The Extravagant World of Child Beauty Pageants is detailed view the fixation that America has with "youth, beauty, fame, and fortune."

“High Glitz” is a subgenre of child beauty pageants characterized by couture “glitz” costumes and a broad array of cosmetic preparations including, among other tricks of the trade: glamour makeup, elaborate hairstyles, and “flippers” (false front teeth veneers)."

Anderson does a brilliant job of making the images vibrant and eye-opening.  She depicts different examples of the stereotypical, yet shockingly true, connotations of child beauty pageants.  Anderson manages to clearly show the connection between common values prevalent in child beauty pageants, and those that can sometimes go undetected in American culture, as well.  Part of what makes Anderson's work so special is her attention to minute details.  This allows her work to remain autonomous from previous photographers' work that have already proven the absurdity of these competitions.

© Susan Anderson
© Susan Anderson
© Susan Anderson

Jennie Gunhammar: Somewhere I Have Never Travelled Gladly Beyond (by Elyssa Marcus)

Jennie Gunhammar's collection "somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond" is a series of portraits of daily life for Gunhammar's identical twin sister, Jess, and her much older partner, Stan.  This collection successfully aims to reveal the dynamics of their relationship, showing their disregard for speculation from outsiders and stereotypes.  It also aims to disprove preconceived notions about the lives of those living with Lupus and Parkinson's Disease.  

Gunhammar embraces the fact that her family's "situation is unusual, even unique."

© Jennie Gunhammar

© Jennie Gunhammar
© Jennie Gunhammar
© Jennie Gunhammar
© Jennie Gunhammar
© Jennie Gunhammar

Tiana Markova-Gold (by Elyssa Marcus)

Tiana Markova-Gold became interested in photography from her many travels to impoverished countries.  She was mainly focused on long-term documentary projects.  What most speaks to her are people or places that she refers to as "hidden, ignored, or misunderstood."  Markova-Gold's main objective is to bring light to problems that may promote affirmative action.  Tiana Markova-Gold works in color film, using only natural light.  Much of her subject matter contains drugs, sex, and violence as shown by her documentary work featuring the lives of a prostitutes in NYC  

”....for just over a year I have been photographing several women who are street-based sex workers in the hunts point area of the South Bronx and another woman who works as a high-end prostitute out of her co-op apartment in the west village in downtown Manhattan."

Something special and horrifying about her photographs is that they are not staged or posed, she does not even use any extra lighting or equipment; how we see it, is how it is.  Sometimes she records conversations with her subjects to include in the project.  In her Haiti photographs, she depicts the environment of Haiti, and shows how even one of the most unpolished areas, still can be beautiful.

© Tiana Markova-Gold

© Tiana Markova-Gold

© Tiana Markova-Gold
© Tiana Markova-Gold
© Tiana Markova-Gold
© Tiana Markova-Gold
© Tiana Markova-Gold
© Tiana Markova-Gold

Nan Goldin (by Elyssa Marcus)

The photographer, Nan Goldin first got her start documenting the new music scene,shooting mostly in the Village of New York City.  They resemble snapshots and mostly, the subjects are using drugs, and acting violently.  Some of her photos are autobiographical self-portraits.  One detail that made her photographs extremely influential was the rate of fatality amongst her subjects.  By the 1990's most of her subjects had died from AIDS or a drug overdose.  The New York Times pointed out its impact, stating that Nan Goldin had "forged a genre, with photography as influential as any in the last twenty years."

Nan Goldin's work is traditionally organized into a slideshow, and entered at film festivals.  The most well known film was 800 pictures and 45 minutes long.  Goldin photographs girls in bathrooms and women looking in mirrors, some say it is like a "private journal made public," similar to the objective of The Girl Project.

© Nan Goldin
© Nan Goldin
© Nan Goldin