by Pat Joel
In recent years, various exhibits have posed the question “Why women photographers?” to stimulate discussion about what is to be gained by gathering together works created solely by women photographers. Cathy Newman, author of Women Photographers at National Geographic (National Geographic, 2000), says that if we line up a dozen photographs, half taken by women, half taken by men, we probably could not tell the difference. However, gender can affect the story a woman photographer obtains by virtue of access. Newman’s book reveals that sometimes the door opens more readily to a woman, sometimes the door doesn’t open at all, and sometimes a female photographer must enter through a side door.
It is increasingly acknowledged that previously there has been underrepresentation of women’s photography in museum collections and major art exhibits. To address this imbalance, some colleges and museums have recently held exhibits and courses on the topic of women photographers. For example, the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., is dedicated to sharing the works of women artists, and provides teaching resources to educators. Always eager to explore the potential of new technologies, some women photographers have discovered a great equalizer in the Internet. Librarians and teachers too can enjoy ease of access to the online exhibits and galleries the Web provides.
In order to measure the significance of women’s perspectives on an artistic or historical level, students need to know specifically who these women are, under what conditions they have pursued their profession, and what promise their lives hold for today’s young women. From a science and technology viewpoint, students will be interested in the challenges posed by early cameras, such as the malodiferous chemicals that ate holes in clothing and blackened fingernails. They can chart the advances and contributions of women as their sphere of influence gradually widened from the inner circle of family and friends to the national transitions and upheavals of the twentieth century. Finally, they can read firsthand accounts of the risks undertaken by female photojournalists on the war fronts and in foreign countries whose cultures proscribe independent activity by women.
Lowry, Lois. Looking Back: A Book of Memories. 1998. 192p. Houghton/Walter Lorraine, $16 (0-395-89543-X); Delacorte, paper, $12.95 (0-385-32699-8).
Gr. 4–8. In this unusually constructed memoir, Lowry randomly assembles photographs of herself, her family, and her friends. These are interwoven with episodes from her life, brief excerpts from her books, and linkages to the characters Lowry has created.
Partridge, Elizabeth. Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange. 1998. 128p. Viking, $21.99 (0-670-87888-X); Puffin, paper, $10.99 (0-14-230024-1).
Gr. 6–up. This fine photo-essay contains more than 60 black-and-white photographs showing Lange’s empathy for her subjects. Partridge draws a portrait of not only Lange’s professional challenges but her personal ones as well, especially her father’s desertion of the family in her youth and her encounter with polio.
Rubin, Susan Goldman. Margaret Bourke-White: Her Pictures Were Her Life. 1999. 96p. Abrams, $19.95 (0-8109-4381-6).
Gr. 6–up. This excellent biography is perfect for middle- and high-school students and gives broad coverage of Bourke-White’s life and career. The book discusses how she was one of the “Founding Four” Life magazine photographers and was sent on assignment during World War II. The accompanying photographic reproductions are authentic to her professional intentions in their crispness and clarity. Also see Emily Keller’s Margaret Bourke-White: A Photographer’s Life (Lerner, 1996).
Sills, Leslie. In Real Life: Six Women Photographers. 2000. 80p. Holiday, $19.95 (0-8234-1498-1); paper, $9.95 (0-8234-1752-2).
Gr. 7–up. This collective biography is a wonderful source of information about the lives of Imogen Cunningham, Dorothea Lange, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Cindy Sherman, Carrie Mae Weems, and Elsa Dorfman. The re