Although she only studied photography for about five years prior to her death, mainly as a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Francesca Woodman left behind more than 800 negatives. Many of these photos have never been seen by the public, until now. Her parents, both artists, have protected her work for decades, granting only select permissions to reproduce her work, waiting for the right venue to showcase their daughter’s collection. The first major U.S. museum exhibition of Woodman’s work in 25 years, the ‘Through the Lens of Francesca Woodman’ exhibit is now at the Guggenheim Museum in New York where it will be through June 13.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is pleased to announce the afternoon symposium Art in the 1970s: Through the Lens of Francesca Woodman, presented in conjunction with the exhibition Francesca Woodman, on view through June 13.
On Friday, May 18, beginning at 4pm, scholars and artists examine the relationship between the still and moving image in Francesca Woodman’s and other artists’ production during the 1970s, particularly as associated with Post-Minimalism, performance, and video. Using the framework of Woodman’s work, which the New York Times calls “a rare and beautiful thing,” this series of brief talks and group conversations reconsiders artistic video in the 1970s, notions of time and space in Woodman’s work, and feminist practice during the transformative artistic juncture of the period. Woodman’s recently released short videos will be screened.
Organized by Jennifer Blessing, Senior Curator, Photography, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.