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Contents
Foreword
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Artists’ Statement: HER HER
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SHEILA ICE
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OLD VENICE Appendices
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Contents
Foreword
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Artists’ Statement: HER HER
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SHEILA ICE
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OLD VENICE Appendices
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Artist’s Statement I am a decent woman. A pretty good wife—with a very good therapist; otherwise I would’ve screwed this one up way too many times. A good mother—I think I do this one best, except between the hours of 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and certain whole days at a time. A daughter—I wasn’t the greatest daughter growing up. I’m starting to get the hang of it now that I’m a parent. A good sister. And lastly a friend—to some, the best, and to others, impossibly guarded. I’m forty-three years old and I’m trying to grow as a person but so is my skin. I’m not that interested in holding onto my youth. My life is far greater now. But letting go isn’t as easy as it sounds. Some days I don’t recognize this person who looks back at me in the mirror. She is older. Has responsibilities. She has had to learn that sometimes God has a bigger plan for her life than she does. On the outside, she strives for peace but inside there is a terrible turbulence of holding on too tightly to all the things that have finally brought her that peace and true joy. With HER, she turns away from the mirror and turns the camera on her own life—examining the psychology of her age and gender in black and white, through surreal interpretations and exaggerated gestures reminiscent of Italian cinema, creating photographs that reflect the universal idea of womanhood and assure HER that she is not on this path alone.
Her One
Artist’s Statement I am a decent woman. A pretty good wife—with a very good therapist; otherwise I would’ve screwed this one up way too many times. A good mother—I think I do this one best, except between the hours of 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. and certain whole days at a time. A daughter—I wasn’t the greatest daughter growing up. I’m starting to get the hang of it now that I’m a parent. A good sister. And lastly a friend—to some, the best, and to others, impossibly guarded. I’m forty-three years old and I’m trying to grow as a person but so is my skin. I’m not that interested in holding onto my youth. My life is far greater now. But letting go isn’t as easy as it sounds. Some days I don’t recognize this person who looks back at me in the mirror. She is older. Has responsibilities. She has had to learn that sometimes God has a bigger plan for her life than she does. On the outside, she strives for peace but inside there is a terrible turbulence of holding on too tightly to all the things that have finally brought her that peace and true joy. With HER, she turns away from the mirror and turns the camera on her own life—examining the psychology of her age and gender in black and white, through surreal interpretations and exaggerated gestures reminiscent of Italian cinema, creating photographs that reflect the universal idea of womanhood and assure HER that she is not on this path alone.
Her One
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The Weight of Water
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The Weight of Water
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Him
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Him
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Eve Unraveled 1
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Eve Unraveled 1
Hell Hath No Fury
A Woman Scorned
Hell Hath No Fury
A Woman Scorned
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Playing Her
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Playing Her
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Up
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Up
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Old Venice Wash
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Old Venice Wash
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In chaotically stunning portraits, HER captures the essence of women’s struggle to break the mold of female perfection; truly allowing rage, encouraging body acceptance, and exploring creativity. Photographer Marjorie Salvaterra strips away the pretense of flawlessness picture by picture, displaying dark whimsy using simple yet evocative props such as wigs, umbrellas, and straightackets, and in so doing, revealing the raw intimacy of women struggling against their own senses of self. HER examines the psychology of age and gender through the lens of unexpected interpretation and exaggerated gestures, visually evoking the works of Italian film director Federico Fellini and painter Alex Katz. At the same time, Marjorie celebrates the individuality of womanhood in these 84 striking, perversely humorous, black-and-white images of women of all types. HER is at once incisive social commentary and a creative exploration of the female sense of self.
Marjorie Salvaterra is a photographer whose roles as a wife and mother inspired her ongoing interest in female community and the roles of women around the world. Marjorie’s work has been displayed the Griffin Museum in Massachusetts; Musée de l’Elysée, in Lausanne, Switzerland; the Rencontres d’Arles in Arles, France; and Duncan Miller Projects Gallery and MOPLA Opening Night Solo Exhibit in Los Angeles, among others. Her work was included in the George Eastman House Museum auction at Sotheby’s, in New York, and she was a runner-up for the 2009 and 2010 Berenice Abbot Prize for Emerging Photographers. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Marjorie attended New York University before moving to Los Angeles, where she currently lives with her husband and two children. $50; 978-1-943876-10-5; 9 x 12 inches, 144 pages; hardcover with jacket 84 b/w photographs