LaToya Ruby Frazier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
LaToya Ruby Frazier
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LaToya Ruby Frazier at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2024
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| Born | 1982 (age 42–43) Braddock, Pennsylvania, US
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| Education | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (BFA, 2004) Syracuse University (MFA, 2007) Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, (2011) |
| Known for | Photography, video art, performance art |
| Awards | Creative Capital Award (2012) Guna S. Mundheim Fellowship in the Visual Arts (2014) Guggenheim Fellowship (2014) MacArthur Fellowship (2015) |
LaToya Ruby Frazier (born 1982) is an American artist. She is known for her powerful photographs and videos. Her work often shows how big problems like racism and changes in industry affect everyday people. She uses her camera to tell important stories about social justice.
Contents
Early Life and Inspiration
LaToya Ruby Frazier grew up in Braddock, Pennsylvania. When she was 16, she started taking pictures of her family and hometown. She wanted to show life from the inside, working with the people she photographed.
Frazier was inspired by Gordon Parks, a famous photographer. Parks believed a camera could be a tool for social justice. Frazier uses her photos to highlight problems like racism, the decline of industries, and harm to the environment. She shows how these issues affect individuals and families.
She once said that these problems are not just local. She believes they are "an American problem, it is a global problem. Braddock is everywhere." This means the challenges faced in her hometown can be seen in many places around the world.
Education and Learning
Frazier started college at 17. She studied photography with Kathe Kowalski, who became a very important teacher. Kowalski taught her about feminist theory, which looks at how gender affects society. She also learned about semiotics, which is the study of signs and symbols. This helped Frazier understand how photos can send powerful messages.
In 2004, Frazier earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She then received her Master of Fine Art Photography in 2007 from Syracuse University. After more advanced study, she began teaching at Yale University.
Her Artistic Journey
LaToya Ruby Frazier has been drawing and painting since she was young. Her Grandma Ruby encouraged her to achieve great things.
Since 2009, her work has been shown in many important art exhibitions. These include shows at the New Museum and MoMA PS1. In 2013, she had her first solo museum exhibition, called A Haunted Capital, at the Brooklyn Museum.
In 2014, Frazier released her first book, The Notion of Family. This book won an award from the International Center of Photography.
Awards and Recognition
LaToya Ruby Frazier has received many awards for her art. Some of these include:
- The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award (2011)
- The Theo Westenberger Award (2012)
- The Gwendolyn Knight & Jacob Lawrence Prize (2013)
In 2014, she became a Guggenheim Fellow. This is a special award given to people who have shown great ability in their field. The next year, she received a MacArthur Fellowship. This award is sometimes called a "genius grant." Frazier said the award showed that her work was "a fight for social justice and cultural change."
In 2021, she was given an Honorary Fellowship by the Royal Photographic Society.
Her Powerful Work
LaToya Ruby Frazier's photographs often show both private family moments and bigger stories of unfairness in America. She takes honest pictures of her friends and family. She says that her work with her family mixes self-portraits with social documentary. This means she tells a bigger story through her own life and the lives of those closest to her.
Much of her work focuses on her hometown, Braddock, Pennsylvania. This town faced hard times after the steel industry declined in the 1970s and 80s. Frazier uses black and white photos to show the beauty of Braddock. She also shows how the town's changes have affected her family and other residents. Her photos show both strength and vulnerability.
Besides The Notion of Family, Frazier has worked on other important projects. One project, called Flint is Family, focused on the Flint water crisis. This series showed a young woman and her family living through the difficult water conditions in Flint, Michigan. She also contributed photos to a New York Times project about health issues faced by Black mothers and babies.
Frazier uses her art to explore ideas about place, race, and family. Her main subjects are her Grandma Ruby, her mother, and herself. The changing landscape of Braddock, a former steel town, is often in the background of her images. She shows how the environment and buildings have decayed. She also shows the lives of people who continue to live there. Frazier believes it is important to document these changes. She wants to create an archive of working-class families facing these challenges.
Her work helps people talk about social classes, history, and our responsibility to each other.
Exhibitions
LaToya Ruby Frazier's work has been shown in many places around the world.
Solo Exhibitions
- Brooklyn Museum, A Haunted Capital (2013)
- Seattle Art Museum, Born by a River (2013)
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Witness (2013)
- Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Witness (2013)
- Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY (2018)
- Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany (2021)
Group Exhibitions
- The Way of the Shovel, Art as Archaeology, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL (2013)
- Empire State, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, Italy (2013)
- Gertrude's/LOT, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA (2011)
- Commercial Break, Garage Projects, 54th Venice Biennale, Italy (2011)
- Greater New York, MoMA PS1, New York, NY (2010)
- The Generational Triennial: Younger Than Jesus, New Museum, New York, NY (2009)
Biennials
- Busan Biennale, South Korea (2014)
- Recycling Memory: Recapturing the Lost City, 11th Nicaraguan Visual Arts Biennial, Managua (2014)
- Mom, am, I barbarian?, 13th Istanbul Biennial (2013)
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2012)
Images for kids
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LaToya Ruby Frazier at the Baltimore Museum of Art
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Shea Brushing Zion's Teeth with Bottled Water in Her Bathroom, Flint, Michigan (2016-2017)
See also
In Spanish: LaToya Ruby Frazier para niños
