Yesterday I went to the Guggenheim to see the new exhibit of photos by Francesca Woodman. She received her first camera in her early teens and over the next eight or nine years she created a fairly large body of work. Mostly small self-portraits of herself nude. She attended RISD, then went on to study at various art colonies, before finally moving to NYC. She tried her hand at fashion photography, which didn't really pan out. In 1981 at 22 years old she jumped either from a bedroom window or off her roof and committed suicide. Her body was not identified for some time because the fall rendered her unrecognizable. Her parents, who are both artists, have been releasing her work since the 1990s for books and various exhibits. A sad ending to what was a promising career in fine art. Then again, as in the case of Diane Arbus, one's early demise can have an enormously positive effect on an artist's career, creating the persona of another extremely talented artist who was literally tormented to death. Look at what it did for Van Gogh!
Anyway, it was a lovely, inspiring show. When I got home I dusted off my old medium format YashicaMat. Just like the one she used.
As an homage to Francesca, I've added two frames of my new friend, "S". A lovely and willing muse.
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