I have always thought of my pictures as a family album.
Judith Black is an American photographer whose work primarily focuses on family, home, and everyday life. Her approach to capturing domestic life is informed by her research on women's roles in society and their empowerment through career and passion. Judith is one of the leading photographers in the conversation about family life that started as a wave in the 80s, aiming to uncover meaning in what may seem like a monotonous daily routine. What became a genre of Family Albums highlights themes such as societal change, the passage of time, and the cycle of life.
In this interview, Judith shares how family photography became a therapeutic experience during challenging times, allowing her to create distance for contemplation about the self in society and the significance of family. She emphasizes the importance of including herself in the Family Albums she created, making herself an integral part of the narrative. Judith says, “Rather than being the detached observer behind the camera, I included myself in the frame. I felt that I could expose myself in a way that was honest and revealing.” We also discuss two books published by Stanley/Barker: Pleasant Street (2020) and Vacation (2021), and the contrast between themes of motherhood and womanhood.
Judith Black taught in the Art Department at Wellesley College and served as the Head of Photography, focusing on the Media Arts and Science program. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is part of permanent collections across the United States. Judith’s practice includes working with large format cameras and a focus on black-and-white imagery.
Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
‘I started using the camera as a visual diary to record my pain, depression, and survival at a time when life was rough.’
My Narrative
Hi Judith, it is a pleasure to have this chance to speak with you about your photography and learn more about your approach.
It is fascinating to learn that you started by painting as a child, worked as a photography technician in a lab, and were head of the photography program and teaching at Wellesley College for 25 years. Your research of over 40 years is focused on family and self-portraiture. How did you decide on this specific subject matter when just starting, and in what way has the voice that you found evolved with family members growing up, people changing, and yourself as a photographer maturing your practice?
I was 34 when I started grad school with four young children. I had always taken photos of my kids. I started using the camera as a visual diary to record my pain, depression, and survival at a time when life was rough. I started to take photos at home of myself and my children and my partner. The portraits evolved into a long-term documentation of self and family… of the people I love. Home became my 'studio,' the basement held a darkroom. Turning the camera around, or facing the camera, was a way to confront and record the pain of a very bad time in my life when there was a lot of loss. It was therapeutic for me. Today, such ‘personal’ work is accepted as a legitimate genre that has universal appeal. Family is a very rich vein of emotional inquiry.
‘My teaching was a blend of understanding the photographic tools and thoughtful subject matter, even in the first-semester basic class.’
Photography as a Subject
You have an incredible experience of not only practicing photography but also teaching it. When teaching this subject, you share your experience and expertise in working with family members and developing your language. In what way has teaching and connection with students, their angle of perception and views influenced your work? Could you share a story or conversation you had that affected your approach?
My students inspired me with their incredible work ethic and with their personal stories. I never showed them my work. I figured they could find it on their own, even before the internet made it easy. I taught at a liberal arts, all-female, under-grad college with no official major in photography. My teaching was a blend of understanding the photographic tools and thoughtful subject matter, even in the first-semester basic class. My students loved working in the darkroom and formed lasting friendships that, through social media, I can see, still exist. Some have gone on to be practicing artists; others are lawyers, teachers, curators, politicians, writers, filmmakers. The stories many of them shared about their lives were brave and therapeutic. Watching them mature and grapple with their lives was a gift.
‘Rather than being the detached observer behind the camera, I included myself in the frame. I felt that I could expose myself in a way that was honest and revealing.’
Family Album
First day of school, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, children going on vacation -- the images capture the most memorable moments, the milestones, or the place in time when there is something to look for while appreciating the gathering together. The images depict the personalities of each kid and also a connection to time and place in terms of characteristics such as the trends in hairstyles or clothes worn at the specific period. This creates a connection between the viewer and the subject with the mood of the person in the image and the time they are at that moment. How have your kids shaped the narrative you create with the photographs, the frames you build, and the connection you have to form what is beyond being a mother when staging the photographs?
Family albums are part of my research done to place my work in context. If you google 'first day of school' there are thousands of children dressed in clean clothes and holding a placard with a date on it. As a family, we were collaborators in the sense that the camera became a part of our life, not as an everyday practice, but as part of certain 'rituals' such as birthdays, holidays, school events, vacations. I have always thought of my pictures as a family album. One for me and my family and one shared with others in an exhibit or book.
There was obviously some direction on my part… choosing a spot where there was enough light, or where the space was interesting… Those were my choices. I didn’t give lots of directions, only directions like 'hold still,' 'look at the lens,' etc. The process of editing, which is my job as the artist, is where the 'staging' of the story happens.
Families are complicated. I tried to be honest about what I saw and who we were becoming. Rather than being the detached observer behind the camera, I included myself in the frame. I felt that I could expose myself in a way that was honest and revealing.
Pleasant Street and Vacation
I’d like to talk about your two books published by Stanley/Barker: Pleasant Street (2020) and Vacation (2021). While with Pleasant Street, you focus on your family and home, with Vacation, the shift is to the road trip and extended family on the West Coast. What was your experience working on the books with the publisher, deciding on the layouts and design to tell the story, and your understanding of the exact moments looking back at the images of that time?
I was overwhelmed that Stanley Barker Books reached out to me and wanted to publish a book! At that time, I was retired and thinking that publishing a book would be a hard sell. I had pretty much abandoned the thought. When I discovered the email from Greg, I jumped at the chance. Greg already had an idea for Pleasant Street based on the photos on my rather chaotic website, so it was not hard to establish a working relationship. I sent him lots of files, and he did sequences and layouts. He is a very, very good editor! The photos almost demand a chronological approach.
Pleasant Street focuses a bit more on me as a mother and partner in one setting. Vacation includes extended family and other locations. Many of the photos are taken on trips. The names and dates are important for the meaning of the photos. For many of the images, I add a notation that recalls a memory for me or adds information for a viewer. There are several images posted here that are 'Leaving on vacation with their father' photos.
‘It was not how women represented motherhood but how they lived and worked that was most meaningful to me.’
Female Gaze
One of the prominent themes is womanhood in connection to the opportunities and challenges women face and the struggles that exist to this day. You became a mother at 23 and decided to earn your MFA in Photography at MIT at 34 while continuing to practice photography. What would be your advice to women photographers today who want to pursue this path in their career?
So much has changed in the 45 years since I started at MIT. Then, motherhood and family were not as prominent a genre as it is now. There is much more support today for women who are both mothers and photographers. As my thesis subject, I researched books for role models and found many women who wanted a career in photography, starting with Julia Margaret Cameron.
Motherhood is only one path. My research found that photographs taken in and around the 'home' were legitimate, beautiful, and rich subject matter. It was not how women represented motherhood but how they lived and worked that was most meaningful to me. Time, child-care, and acknowledgment in the field were and still are the main concerns for many women. Balance is the key.
Upcoming Projects
What are you working on at the moment, and what can we expect from you in the future?
I have one more book of family photos that would be a fitting coda to the first two with Stanley Barker. It would include early work as well as more of the diptychs and triptychs from the later years. There is an archive of color work, primarily digital files, of my father and mother-in-law as they declined. There are other smaller projects that could be culled from the years of negatives. I’m in the process of reactivating my darkroom and hope to make a portfolio of my favorites.
