Photographer #310: Lalla Essaydi

Lalla Essaydi, 1956, is a fine art photographer from Morocco. She received an MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Besides photography she uses other media as painting, film and installations. Her art often contains islamic calligraphy in combination with the representation of the female body. She addresses the complex reality of the Arab female identity. She has looked at the western painting tradition, recreating the paintings in an orientalist setting. In Les Femmes du Maroc, all the props used, including the background and the clothes, are covered in caligraphy. The calligraphy is even on the bodies of the females with the use of henna. Essaydi has exhibited extensively, is represented by numerous galleries and her work is in private and public collections. The following images come from the series Les Femmes du Maroc and Harem.

Unfortunately Lalla does not have a website. For more images go to: www.schneidergallerychicago.com, www.houkgallery.com, www.artnet.com or www.lisasettegallery.com

Photographer #283: Mitch Dobrowner

Mitch Dobrowner, 1956, USA, is a landscape photographer with a unique signature. He fell in love with photography at an early age but due to the tasks of running a design studio and raising a family he did not take photographs. Early 2005, inspired by his wife, children and friends, he once again started to make images. His black and white photography concentrates on mountains, water, trees and heavy clouds. His landscapes are threatening yet peaceful and serene. He states that when shooting a quality image, he knows it; "At those moments things are quiet, seem simple again." Mitch has won numerous awards since 2006, amongst which are the IPA/Lucie Awards which he won first as a non-professional and now twice as a professional. The following images come from the portfolio's Storms, Land and Urban.

Website: www.mitchdobrowner.com

Photographer #264: Paul D'Amato

Paul D'Amato, 1956, USA, could be called a "creative non-fiction" photographer. His photographic practice has always inhabited a space between two contradictory truths. These two truths he describes are that every image is a fiction, but that every photograph is still a representation of the subject. He believes that no picture can ever express the true complexity of the individual yet sees this as liberating. What's important is form, light, color and composition. However, the photographs still emblematically stand for the person portrayed. The truth about fiction leads to playfulness and invention, the truth about representation brings along responsibility as the picture still refers to a world that real people inhabit. His series Barrio, on the communities in Pilsen and Little Village in Chicago, was shot in a period of fourteen years and was released as a book in 2006. The following images come from the series We Shall, We Shall: Project Painting and Barrio.

Website: www.pauldamato.com

Photographer #154: Rauf Mamedov

Rauf Mamedov, 1956, is a photographer from Azerbaijan. He currently lives and works in Moscow. He focuses on biblical themes in his photography and uses people with down-syndrom as his models. Rauf has had numerous group and solo exhibitions from Russia to Holland and from Israel to the USA. Next to being a photographer he is also a film director. The following images come from the series The Silence of Maria, Pieta and Last Supper.

Website: http://aidangallery.ru/

Photographer #019: Cara Barer

Cara Barer, USA, 1956, is a photographer that changes the appearance of books and other items made of paper. Through experimentation Cara has found various ways to transform the items into stylish objects that hold a deeper layer. She hopes to raise questions about the changes in the ways we research and find our daily information.

Website: www.carabarer.com