Francesca Woodman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Francesca Stern Woodman
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Self-portrait, c. 1977
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| Born | April 3, 1958 Denver, Colorado, U.S.
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| Died | January 19, 1981 (aged 22) New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Boulder High School |
| Alma mater | Rhode Island School of Design |
| Occupation | Photographer |
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Francesca Stern Woodman (born April 3, 1958 – died January 19, 1981) was an American photographer. She is famous for her black and white photos, often showing herself or other women.
Many of her pictures show women who are blurry. This blurriness was caused by movement or long exposure times. Sometimes, the women look like they are blending into their surroundings, or their faces are hidden.
Even though she died young at age 22 in 1981, her work still gets a lot of praise from art experts today.
Contents
Life and Education
Francesca Woodman was born in Denver, Colorado. Her parents, George Woodman and Betty Woodman, were both artists. Her older brother, Charles, later became a professor of electronic art.
Francesca took her first self-portrait when she was just thirteen years old. She continued to photograph herself throughout her life. She went to public school in Boulder, Colorado, from 1963 to 1971. The family often spent summers in Italy.
In 1972, she started high school at Abbot Academy, a private school in Massachusetts. There, she really started to develop her photography skills. She became very interested in art. Abbot Academy later joined with Phillips Academy. Francesca graduated from Boulder High School in 1975. During these years, she continued to spend summers with her family in the Italian countryside near Florence.
In 1975, Woodman began studying at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. She spent a year studying in Rome, Italy, from 1977 to 1978. Because she spoke Italian fluently, she made friends with many Italian artists and thinkers. She returned to Rhode Island in late 1978 and graduated from RISD.
After graduating, Woodman moved to New York City in 1979. She hoped to start a career in photography. She sent her work to fashion photographers, but she didn't find success right away. In the summer of 1980, she was an artist-in-residence at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
Towards the end of 1980, Francesca became sad. Her photography wasn't getting the attention she hoped for, and she also went through a difficult breakup.
Death
Francesca Woodman died on January 19, 1981, when she was twenty-two years old.
Her Artworks
Photographs (1972–1980)
Francesca Woodman used different cameras and film types. However, most of her photos were taken with medium format cameras. These cameras produced square negatives that were about 2.25 by 2.25 inches (6x6 cm).
Woodman created at least 10,000 negatives. Her parents kept all of them. Her family manages her art collection, which includes over 800 printed photos. By 2006, only about 120 of these images had been shown in public or published. Most of Woodman's prints are small, about 8 by 10 inches (20 by 25 cm) or smaller. This size helps viewers feel a close connection to the photographs.
Many of Woodman's pictures do not have titles. They are often known by where and when they were taken. She frequently took photos indoors. She liked to find old, empty, or run-down places to create her photo scenes.
Videos (1975–1978)
While at RISD, Woodman borrowed a video camera and a VTR (videotape recorder). She made videos that were connected to her photographs. Some of these videos have been shown in art museums. They were displayed at the Helsinki City Art Museum in Finland and the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation in Miami in 2005. They were also shown at the Tate Modern in London in 2007–2008, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2011.
Some Disordered Interior Geometries (1981 Book)
Woodman created several artist's books. These included Portrait of a Reputation and Quaderno dei Dettati e dei Temi. However, the only book of her photographs published during her lifetime was Some Disordered Interior Geometries.
This book came out in January 1981, shortly before she died. It has 24 pages and is based on pages from an Italian geometry exercise book. Woodman attached 16 photographs to the pages. She also added her own handwriting and used white correction fluid. One study of the book noted that she sometimes re-drew shapes "for emphasis or delight." The published book has purple-pink covers, but the inside pages are printed in black, white, and shades of gray.
Critics have described the book in different ways. In 1999, one critic called it "a distinctively bizarre book." A 2006 essay said it was "a three-way game" between the geometry text, Woodman's own notes, and her photo compositions. Another article in 2008 found the book "poetic and humorous."
Posthumous Recognition
Publications
Many books have been published about Francesca Woodman's work since her death. These include catalogs from her art shows.
Books of Woodman's Work
- Francesca Woodman: Photographs 1975-1980. This was an exhibition catalog published in 2004.
- Francesca Woodman. Published by Phaidon Press in 2006.
- Francesca Woodman's Notebook. Released in 2011, this book includes a copy of an Italian school exercise book where Woodman added photos. It also has a note from her father.
- On Being an Angel. Published in 2015.
- Alternate Stories. An exhibition catalog from 2021.
Books About Woodman
- Francesca Woodman and the Kantian sublime. This 2010 book looks at how Woodman's photos relate to a philosophy theory.
- Francesca Woodman's Dark Gaze. Published in 2016, this book by Claire Raymond studies some of Woodman's later works.
Exhibitions
Francesca Woodman had only a few art shows during her lifetime. Some of these were in smaller, alternative art spaces in New York and Rome. There were no known shows of her work between 1981 and 1985. However, since then, there have been many exhibitions every year.
Some of her major solo exhibitions include:
- 1986–1988: Francesca Woodman, photographic work. This show traveled to several universities and museums in the U.S.
- 1992–1993: Francesca Woodman, photographische arbeiten. This exhibition traveled to many places in Europe.
- 1998–2002: Francesca Woodman. This large show traveled to Paris, London, and other major cities.
- 2000: Francesca Woodman: Providence, Roma, New York. Held in Rome, Italy.
- 2009–2010: Francesca Woodman. This show traveled to Spain and Italy.
- 2011–2012: Francesca Woodman. This important exhibition was shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Many photos had never been seen before.
- 2015–2017: On Being an Angel. This exhibition traveled to museums in Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Paris.
- 2019-2020: Francesca Woodman: Portrait of a Reputation. Held at the MCA Denver in her hometown.
- 2021: Francesca Woodman:Alternate Stories. Held at the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York.
Films About Woodman
In 2000, an experimental video called The Fancy was made by Elisabeth Subrin. It explored Woodman's life and art. Reviewers noted that the video looked at her art style, her life story, and questions about who owns art.
A full-length documentary film called The Woodmans was released in theaters on January 18, 2011. This was the thirtieth anniversary of her death. The director was given full access to Francesca's photographs, private diaries, and experimental videos. The film won "Best New York Documentary" at the Tribeca Film Festival.
The film received mostly positive reviews. On the film review website Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of critics' reviews were positive. It was also shown on the PBS series Independent Lens in December 2011.
Public Opinion
People generally have a good opinion of Francesca Woodman's art. At an exhibition in Paris in 1998, many people had "strong reactions" to her "interesting" photographs. Many people have found Woodman's individual photos, like "Self-portrait at 13," or her photography in general, to be very inspiring.
Artistic Influences
Art critics and historians have noted that Francesca Woodman was influenced by several things:
- Gothic fiction: This is a type of story that often features lonely female characters who might go mad. Gothic stories use symbols like tombs, mirrors, demons, and angels.
- The myth of Apollo and Daphne: This ancient Greek story involves a woman turning into a tree. Woodman's photos sometimes show her tangled in tree roots or wearing tree bark.
- Surrealism: This was an art movement that explored dreams and the unconscious mind. Woodman studied surrealism a lot. She also followed the Surrealist idea of not fully explaining her work.
- André Breton: He was a famous Surrealist writer. Woodman once said she wanted her words and images to connect in the same way that photos and text connect in Breton's book Nadja.
- Man Ray: A well-known Surrealist photographer.
- Duane Michals: Another photographer whose work shares similarities with Woodman's, such as blurry effects, angels, and handwriting.
- Deborah Turbeville: Woodman admired Turbeville's work.
- Max Klinger: Woodman learned about the symbolic art of Max Klinger while studying in Rome. His influence can be seen in her "Eel Series" and "Angel Series." Her photos often combine performance and play to create strong feelings. By hiding or blurring her subjects, she reminds viewers that photos don't always show the whole truth.
- George Lange: Woodman worked closely with her friend George Lange, who also went to RISD. The director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, noted that they "made photographs together, they shared meals together, they experimented, explored and created together." An exhibition focused on her early work, showing playful and everyday moments from her life.
Images for kids
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Poster for the 2011 film The Woodmans including part of "Polka Dots" photograph
