Joni Sternbach (born 1953) is an American photographer whose

large-format Large format refers to any imaging format of or larger. Large format is larger than "medium format", the or size of Hasselblad, Mamiya, Rollei, Kowa, and Pentax cameras (using 120- and 220-roll film), and much larger than the frame o ...

camera images employ early photographic processes, including

tintype A tintype, also known as a melainotype or ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion. Tintypes enjoyed their ...

and

collodion Collodion is a flammable, syrupy solution of nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol. There are two basic types: flexible and non-flexible. The flexible type is often used as a surgical dressing or to hold dressings in place. When painted on the skin, ...

. Using an 8×10

Deardorff L.F. Deardorff & Sons Inc. was a manufacturer of wooden-construction, large-format 4"x5" and larger bellows view camera from 1923 through 1988. They were used by professional photographic studios. Company history Laban F. Deardorff repaired camera ...

large format camera, Sternbach focuses on in situ

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

s of

surfers Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

. Sternbach's photographs are particularly notable for highlighting women surfers and surf culture, and for her

ethnographic Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...

rather than action approach.

Early life

Sternbach was born in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York in 1953. She received her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in photography from the International Center for Photography at NYU in 1987. She has also taught photography at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and the

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography (ICP), at 79 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, consists of a museum for photography and visual culture and a school offering an array of educational courses and programming. ...

and Cooper Union.

Work

In a '' National Geographic'' profile, Sternbach describes her relation to using early photographic processes as deploying a medium in need of an appropriate subject matter, one that she gradually found surfers to fulfill quite by accident: "Once I understood the limitations of the process, I realized that it was more of a question of finding a subject matter to suit the medium, not the other way around." Indeed, Sternbach is regarded as a master and pioneer of the 20th-21st-century revival of early analog processes. Photographs in Sternbach's 2009 book ''Surfland'' are described by ''The New York Times'' as "a kind of ethnographic study in stillness, silvery portraits of a tribe united by a sense of adventure, the love of a sport and a connection to the ocean." Sternbach's "16.02.20 #1 Thea+Maxwell" from the series ''Surfland'' was awarded second place in the 2016 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Sternbach has been recognized for her work as a female surf photographer.

Collections

* National Portrait Gallery, London *

Maison Européenne de la Photographie The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP; European house of photography), located in the historic heart of Paris, is a center for contemporary photographic art opened in February 1996. Location and activities The Hotel Henault de Cantobre, ...

, Paris, France * Museum of Fine Arts, Texas *

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...

, Kansas City, Missouri *

Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and th ...

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. * LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California

Books

*''Surfland'' (2009), Photolucida *''Surf Site Tin Type'' (2014), Damiani Editore *''Surfboard'' (2020), self published *''Kissing a Stranger'' (2021), Dürer Editions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sternbach, Joni 20th-century photographers 21st-century photographers American contemporary artists New York University alumni Surf culture Living people 20th-century American women photographers 20th-century American photographers 1953 births 21st-century American women photographers 21st-century American photographers 21st-century American women