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Kentucky-born photographer Stacy Kranitz (see image above) is based in LA, but is usually on the road in the South.
Recently, she has been working on a documentary project about members of a Muslim community in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, now published on the Roads and Kingdoms website, here.
Right now, in fact, she says she is "shuffling between Central Appalachia (Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina) and an Artist residency in Pickens, South Carolina, and will be at least until September 9th, 2016."
SO, if you happen to run into her, please say hello to her for me, and congratulate her.
Because Stacy Kranitz is definitely having a moment in her career.
Kranitz ended 2015 by having a show of work from her As it Was Give(n) to Me portfolio at the Cardiff International Festival of Photography, in Wales, and by being named TIME magazine's Instagram Photographer of the year for 2015.
She also continued publication of her work on the VICE website, here, in an ongoing series that led, in 2016 to a targeted series on Appalachia, here.
And here, on the effects of strip mining.
And here, on the social cost of the decline of the coal industry.
And here, on addiction.
And here, on medical care.
And here, on folks who proudly claim to be Rednecks.
This adds up to a major and significant body of work, which is earning for Kranitz a significant amount of well-deserved recognition.
Her work was featured on SLATE in February, go here. And on Dazed Digital, go here. And on Juxtapoz Magazine, go here.
Kranitz makes a lot of her work photographing what folks in the world of Southern literature call the Rough South, the world occupied by the characters created by writers like Harry Crews, Ernest Gaines, and my former colleague here at NC State, Tim McLauren.
Some folks think Kranitz's work plays into stereotypes about Southern and Appalachian culture. It certainly raises appropriate questions about who it is made for, and what will be made of it by audiences from very different social backgrounds and cultural contexts.
We can discuss those questions, if we need to.
But we need to remember, when we do discuss them, that those are questions that can be raised -- and have been raised -- about the work of Walker Evans, or Robert Frank, or any of a large number of celebrated photographers who work in the documentary mode and whose subjects are not likely to show up in the museums or galleries frequented by students of fine art photography.
What one cannot deny, I think, is the essential humanity and compassion for her subjects -- as well as the high level of technical skill and eye for the critical moment -- that Kranitz brings to her work. And the value of Kranitz's subjects as human beings, and the value to them, as well as to us, of having their stories told.
All this is earning for her wide recognition as a Southern photographer, recognition which she richly deserves.
The Do Good Fund is
building an exceptional collection of Southern photographs, a
collection that promises to become the most complete
and comprehensive collection of photographs of the American South we
have, all in one place.
And now the Do Good Fund has a new website, at http://www.thedogoodfund.org.
Here, you can explore the collection, learn about the current exhibition of work from the collection at the University of Georgia, as well as past and future exhibitions, catch up on news, and arrange for an exhibition or make donations to support collection development.
And all in one place!
We all owe a deep debt of gratitude to Alan Rothschild and his colleagues at the Do Good Fund for this extraordinary undertaking. The
work they've collected already is truly exceptional -- the very best of Southern photography.
The folks who run The Bitter Southerner think so too.
The Magnum Photography Award recipients for 2016 have been announced and among them are two Southern photographers.
Jackson, Tennessee-based photographer Aaron Hardin (see image above) has received first prize in the Fine Art Photography category for work from his 13th Spring portfolio.
Charlottesville, VA-based photographer Matt Eich (see image above) is one of five students to receive special recognition as photographers "who show great promise and deserve special attention at this early stage of their careers."
Eich received this recognition for work from his This is Not Your Family portfolio.
The Magnum Photography Awards is an international competition which this year drew entries from over 127 countries, which the jurors reduced to 24 winners in several categories and an additional 20 finalists.
Congratulations to Hardin and to Eich for receiving these high honors, which are both richly deserved and well-earned.
Southern photographers have had lots of their work on the walls of galleries and museums in the spring of 2016.
Some of the photographers with work on display include the following:
1. Hattiesburg, MS-based photographer Betty Press (see image above) has received the Director's Award for her work now on display, through June 26th, 2016, at the A. Smith Gallery of the Photographic Arts in Johnson City, TX.
2. Williamsburg, VA-based photographer Eliot Dudik has two shows up now at the Center for Fine Art Photography, in Fort Collins, Colorado, up now through June 25th, 2016.
In the Gould Gallery are images from Dudik's Broken Land portfolio (see image above).
In the C4FAP's North Gallery are images from Dudik's Still Lives portfolio (see image above).
3. Chapel Hill, NC-based photographer Tama Hochbaum (see image above) has had work from her Silver Screen portfolio up at Raleigh's Flanders Gallery.
Still more to come! Watch this space.
Sad news from the Lexington (VA) News-Gazette:
"Emmett Munger Mann, born
Nov. 20, 1979, the son of Lexington attorney Larry Mann and Distinguished Southern Photographer Sally Mann, and co-parents Karen (KB) Bailey and Hunter Mohring, died Sunday, June 5th, 2016, at home.
"Mann graduated from John Dewey Academy in Massachusetts and Mary
Washington University in Fredericksburg, and served in the Peace Corps
in Niger.
"A man of eclectic interests and talents, he owned a lawn and garden
service, played guitar with his E. Mann Band, enjoyed composing blends
of funk and reggae, and entertained friends and family with his humor
and love of language.
"He was passionate about topics
as diverse as screwball American politics, biomass energy, the plight of
women in Africa, solar power and the ethics of drinking bottled water.
"He took great pride in his hard work for longtime family friends,
Washington and Lee’s Blue Bike Program and the broader Lexington
community, which was central to his life.
"Members of his community spontaneously gathered at the Blue Phoenix
Café on Washington Street Monday evening. The owner, Amenie
Hopkins, also a county native, recalled Mann’s high school years. “He
was always this idolized figure. Half the girls in Lexington had a crush
on him.”
"In his later life, he dealt with his schizophrenia with grace, joking about his demons: “My charisma is broke.”
"In addition to his parents and co-parents, he is survived by two
sisters, Jessie and Virginia Mann, and two uncles, Bob and Chris Munger.
They are all so proud of him.
"Memorial contributions may be sent to the Rockbridge Area Community
Services Board, attention John Young, 241 Greenhouse Road, Lexington,
Va. 24450."
May his soul, and the souls of all the departed, rest in peace. And may his parents, and all who loved him, be comforted in their grief.
For the full obituary, go here.
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