Susan Meiselas: Through a Woman’s Lens

Lisa Sutcliffe, Herzfeld Curator of Photography and Media Arts

Susan Meiselas (American, b. 1948) has spent nearly five decades documenting the issues that human stories reveal. To mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the women’s right to vote, this exhibition examines Meiselas’s sustained focus on the lives and perspectives of women on the edges of the mainstream— narratives that might have been otherwise overlooked. “Right from the beginning, I was questioning the process,” she has noted. “Why am I making a picture? Who is it for? What purpose does it serve?”

Meiselas often builds relationships and deep connections with the people she photographs, collaborating with them to bring their voices to the fore. Complete immersion, according to the artist, has regularly been key to approaching the people she works with, understanding their perspectives, and making pictures that reveal complicated truths. This process underlines how Meiselas has negotiated the responsibility of connecting the people in her photographs to a broader audience, as well as her longstanding interest in interrogating the ethics of seeing.

Susan Meiselas, College Sorority, Madison, Wisconsin, 1978; printed 2020. Gelatin silver print. 8 × 10 in. Courtesy the artist. © Susan Meiselas/ Magnum Photos

Alongside the gallery presentation of the exhibition, we will be giving you, our Members, the first opportunity to explore the 360-degree virtual tour and examine Meiselas’s photographic oeuvre more deeply—to hear from the artist and the people she photographed; examine related publications and ephemera; and watch historical films and interviews that provide context for the artist’s process.

Meiselas is the president of the Magnum Foundation, which serves to mentor and support a new generation of diverse photographic voices. Follow the Museum on social media, @MilwaukeeArt, throughout the run of the exhibition to learn more about this work and the Museum’s upcoming virtual programs.

Books on the artist’s work are available from the Museum Store.