Having each been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the strength of these individual voices is well acknowledged within the photographic canon. For the first time since 1977, when Lisette Model, Diane Arbus and Rosalind Fox Solomon were first exhibited together at Galerie Zabriskie, Paris, viewers will have the opportunity to experience these powerful voices speaking together once again, surrounded and confronted by over 40 original works.
What unites these three female powerhouses in photography is not their subject matter, nor a shared vision or approach, but rather it is a passionate desire to explore their personal identities through interaction with others. In her efficacious lessons as teacher, Lisette Model declared a photographer’s subject matter to be both inherently subjective and impartial, reinforcing the dominant role of the self:
“We are the subject, the object is the world around us.”
Perhaps even more evident when presented alongside one another, their work shares a concern with extending the boundaries of the self, seeking their own humanity. Viewed almost as self-reflections, the photographs comprising this exhibition represent these artists' defiant attempts to understand the world and their place within it.
