Pandora’s BoxX Project

• A photographic portrait series documenting and celebrating the changing face and profound cultural influence of womxn artists and art practitioners (inclusive of trans; non-binary; gender-queer, and female individuals) over the past six decades.

• A quietly radical cultural intervention

Since September 2018, I have photographed 300 multigenerational womxn, contacted through an organic process of recommendations from other womxn, and my own in-depth research. I’ve traveled around the U.S. and abroad for pictures. During the 2020 lockdown, I photographed womxn via the online platform Zoom. Upon completion, Pandora’s BoxX Project will include 360 portraits, signifying a full circle representing all womxn artists and art practitioners now, honoring the voices of those who came before, and establishing a legacy for future generations.

My portraits offer an alternative re-telling of the contemporary art story through the faces of womxn living it, a timeline that extends from womxn artists and art practitioners working since the 60’s through subsequent generations of visionaries. The portraits communicate radically expanding notions of identity, methods of working, and platforms on which to communicate.

I have been photographing people for the past 40 years as visual reference for my figurative paintings. Through the past decade, I’ve been creating photographic artwork as well. My first photographic documentary series was Naked Bike, created between 2015-2017. The number of womxn motorcycle riders expanded greatly between the 1980’s when I started riding and the second decade of the 21st century. However, the high degree of marginalization and misogyny directed towards female riders remained consistent. By photographing my fellow female riders and exhibiting the results at MotorGrrl, a womxn owned motorcycle shop in Brooklyn, NY, I hoped to raise awareness of gender bias throughout the sport.

Pandora’s BoxX Project grew out of my desire to expand the community of female artists with whom I could share friendships and from whom I could grow and learn. I began to photograph artists I knew; painter Brenda Goodman, interdisciplinary artist Janet Biggs, performance artist and founder of Franklin Furnace, Martha Wilson. I included the female support system of writers, curators, art dealers, and various art workers, because together, the artist and art practitioner communities support each other personally and professionally. By the time I photographed the painter Pat Steir, recommended by art writer Linda Yablonsky, I was directing this project as both a call to action; i.e. reframing the art historical narrative from the past six decades to include those who were and continue to be marginalized; and a celebration of womxn’s progress in the arts.

Because I’m part of this community that I’m photographing, I empathize and identify with many of the experiences and challenges of the womxn in it. This insider understanding is key to how I photograph each individual, many of whom I’m meeting for the first time when I show up for a shoot. To familiarize myself with an individual’s expressions and put us both at ease, we’ll spend some time talking before I begin to take pictures. Sculptor Petah Coyne explained that Chanel lipstick was instrumental in how she developed the wax medium she would go on to use in her work. Joyce Scott regaled me with stories from her past in her Baltimore home of 40 years. I photographed Eleanor Antin online as she did an impromptu performance utilizing every inch of that computer screen. Participatory artist Lizania Cruz wanted to be photographed laughing so she would be remembered as someone who asserted power in joy. Dana Hoey spoke about her passion for boxing. Jaune Quick-to-See Smith shared how tough it was when she applied for an art college as a Native American; As I photographed Barbara Chase Riboud at the Serpentine Gallery, London during her first retrospective, she murmured, ’It’s about time’. This process of sharing stories, laughing, enables me to have my ‘aha’ moment when editing-recognizing the image that best represents each women’s particular individuality at a singular moment in time.

A challenge for me was how to keep my own subjectivity from becoming disruptive while creating a scenario where each individual could feel secure. I was familiar with photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ artist portraits from the 1980’s-90’s. While they’re beautiful portraits, and a wonderful record of that period, the light on the subjects is similar, as is the setting for the photographs. Because my ‘gaze’ would be present in the photo editing, I decided against the sameness provided by professional photo lighting, opting instead for the diversity of available light that would be present in settings chosen by the individual being photographed. Everyone is asked to look at the camera during the shoot, so they all directly engage the viewer. The final portrait selections are black and white for viewing continuity.

After each shoot’s edit is finalized, the subject of the shoot is presented with a selection of digital portraits from which to make their choice. In addition, they can use their portraits online for personal purposes with the project’s photo credit. I maintain a publicly available dedicated website (www.pandorasboxxproject.com) for the project, with a home page index listing each womxn participating, and linking to their portrait page.

Rather than exhibit the portraits while the project has been in progress, I have organized numerous public panel discussions over the past 6 years with multi-generational womxn in the project. Panels addressed topics that explored participants’ paths as artists, arts practitioners, and womxn. During these discussions, panelists shared stories from their past, what has and hasn’t changed for each in the present, and their outlook going forward. The talks importantly serve to raise awareness for the project and the womxn participating. They bring together womxn participating in the project who aren’t familiar with each other, as well as sharing the one-on-one spirit of the individual photo-sessions with the public.

Pandora’s BoxX Project takes its name from the ancient Greek myth, Pandora, about a woman whose curiosity and impulse caused her to open a box that changed the world. My photographs are a visual record that stand witness to the womxn visionaries who laid the groundwork for societal change through their perseverance, courage, and creativity. As we actively engage with art history, we are creating a new and living history.

“You row forward looking back, and telling this history is part of helping people navigate toward the future. We need a litany, a rosary, a sutra, a mantra, a war chant for our victories. The past is set in daylight, and it can become a torch we can carry into the night that is the future.” Rebecca Solnit,‘Hope In The Dark’

“WOMEN MAKE ART HISTORY”, Guerrilla Girls

“Prodigy is at its’ essence adaptability, and persistent, positive, obsession. Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment. Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.” Octavia Butler,’Earthseed’