October 4, 2013
Zoe Strauss: 10 Years
The Magnum photographer Zoe Strauss’s mid-career retrospective opens today, at the International Center of Photography in New York. “Zoe Strauss: 10 Years,”
is, in the words of the photographer, “an epic narrative about the
beauty and struggle of everyday life.” Strauss provides us with an
honest, uncensored view of economic and social realities in America. She
often focusses on people on the fringes of society, or those who are
“just getting by.” She began by photographing people in and around her
Philadelphia neighborhood, and has since taken pictures all over the
world, with an eye, she says to exploring “the strength in how we figure
out our lives, and the truth of how sometimes we can’t work it out.”
Strauss’s photographs are grounded in her clear-sighted empathy, which
allows the viewer to feel like part of the exchange between photographer
and subject.
Strauss bought her first camera at the age of thirty, in order to
execute her a project she’d long been planning, “I-95” (2000-2010). Each
year on the first Sunday in May, Strauss attached two hundred and
thirty-one of her photos to pillars underneath a bridge on the I-95
highway in Philadelphia. The photos, which begin as color photocopies
and progressed to ink-jet prints, were on view for three hours, after
which they were free for the taking. This is not unusual for Strauss,
who often displays her photographs outside of galleries—on billboards or
projected onto buildings—to help her reach audience that might not see
the work otherwise.
“Zoe Strauss: 10 Years” is on view through January 19, 2014. Here’s a look.
- “Woman with Red Hair and Green Bag, Madrid, Spain” (2009). Courtesy the artist.
- “Toasting from RV, Philadelphia” (2008). Courtesy the artist.
- “Two Women, Camden, NJ” (2006). Courtesy the artist.
- “Blue and Red Motel, Philadelphia” (2008). Courtesy the artist.
- “Bed in the Little Room, Philadelphia” (2001). Courtesy the artist.
- “Benny Krass Jokes, Philadelphia” (2002). Courtesy the artist.
- “Shot Appliances, Nevada” (2005). Courtesy the artist.
- “Lake Photo at Diane and Art’s, Crystal, NV” (2005). Courtesy the artist.
- “Half House, Camden, NJ” (2008). Courtesy the artist.
- “Woman with Red Hair and Green Bag, Madrid, Spain” (2009). Courtesy the artist.
- “Mattress Flip Front” (2001). CourtesyInternational Center of Photography
- .
- “Giant Mouth Pleasures” (2005). Las Vegas, Nevada. Courtesy the artist.
- “Daddy Tattoo, Philadelphia” (2004). Courtesy International Center of Photography.