MARGE PIERCY

Afterimage by Carmen Winant:

I've always been attracted to photography that poses a threat to itself. I probably work the way that I do – using so many found and collected images – because I’m distrustful of how seductive photography can be. But I can't really shake it either: I feel too tender towards the photographic object. I love feeling them, seeing them in relation to each other. I often describe myself as a photographer who doesn't make my own pictures for this reason. This is all to say that I’ve been drawn to other people who remodulate our expectations of the image: Leigh Ledare, Jo Spence, Valie Export, Jim Goldberg, Rodrigo Valenzuela, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and so on. And, if I am being honest, I draw more from writers than I do from visual artists. The French poststructuralists and Helene Cixous but also American poets like Marge Piercy, whom I've been re-reading a lot lately. They give me language, but they also – on the best days – help me ideate as I go.

A revised quote by Winant from Carte Blanche, Objektiv #20. Join Carmen Winant, Lucas Blalock and Elle Pérez with Objektiv Press during Paris Photo. On Saturday, November 15, at 11h., Delpire & Co will host a presentation by Winant, followed by a discussion with her, Pérez and Blalock over coffee and croissants.