Nancy Floyd, born in

Monticello, Minnesota Monticello ( ) is a city next to the Mississippi River in Wright County, Minnesota, Wright County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,455 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census ...

in 1956, is an American

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

. Her photographic subjects mainly concern women and the female body during youth, pregnancy, and while aging. Her project ''She's Got a Gun'' comprises

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, 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 type ...

s of women and their

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s, which is linked to her

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

childhood. Floyd's work has been shown in 18 solo exhibitions and is held in the collections of the

Museum of Contemporary Photography The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) was founded in 1976 by Columbia College Chicago as the successor to the Chicago Center for Contemporary Photography. The museum houses a permanent collection as well as the Midwest Photographers Project ...

and the

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

. Floyd is a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of photography at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

Education

Floyd received her BFA from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

(1982). She then went on to receive her Master's degree from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

(1985) and later her Master of Fine Arts, MFA (1987), from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

Photography

Weathering Time
'

Beginning in 1982, Floyd began photographing herself daily, taking more than 2,500 photos of herself. These photographs focus on the female body, the passing of time, and the loss of family members. Cultural and technological changes are also noted through her

self-portraits A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

through accompanying

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and settings. The work is a reflection of Floyd's personal experiences with aging and mortality by documenting herself in her personal environment to record her own transformations over time. Floyd sought not only to document the passing of time but also to produce work that expressed information about her own generational context. This specific series of work was exhibited in many different galleries and Floyd received multiple awards and scholarships for this series including the

ICP ICP may refer to: Business * ICP srl, Italian manufacturer of automotive equipment and kit aircraft *Ideal customer profile: see Qualified prospect * International Comfort Products Corporation, US air conditioning and heating company * Indonesi ...

/ GOST First Photo Book Award.

She's Got a Gun
'

To better understand her deceased brother and his love for firearms, Floyd purchased her own gun and discovered a love for the sport and the people she met through it. She began cataloging a visual history of women and guns. In 2008, Floyd published her first book titled, ''She's Got a Gun,'' which includes 35 images taken by Floyd of women with guns. The book references American gun women, but it is also a memoir of her Texas childhood since she lost her brother to the Vietnam war at a very young age.

10.9
'

''10.9'' is another series of photographs that relates closely to Floyd's own love for

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

and the strong women she chooses to photograph. This collection displays images and videos of female competition shooters.

The James M. Floyd Memorial
'

This series of works is a collection of photographs devoted to the brother that she lost when she was only twelve years old. These photographs explore Floyd's feelings about what happened to her brother who died while fighting for the army.

Walking Through the Desert with My Eyes Closed
'

Walking Through the Desert with My Eyes Closed is a series of videos of Floyd's feet and the ground as she walks through a desert. Some of these videos include music to go along with the work. The work was exhibited in a solo exhibition at Whitespace Gallery, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 2021.

Exhibitions

Nancy Floyd has exhibited 18 solo exhibitions and more than 70 group shows. Her exhibitions have been featured in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and Europe, and include the following galleries: * "Weathering Time" **

Blue Sky Gallery Blue Sky Gallery, also known as The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts, is a non-profit exhibition space for contemporary photography in Portland, Oregon. Blue Sky Gallery is dedicated to public education, began by showing local artists and ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, OR (July 3–28, 2019, solo) **CUE Art Foundation, New York, NY (September 7 – October 21, 2017, solo) ** Whitespace, Atlanta, Georgia (November – December 2, 2017, solo) **Flux Projects, Atlanta, Georgia (2011, solo) * "Everyday Is Ordinary", Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, San Antonio, TX (June 4 – August 9, 2015) *"Georgia Artists Selecting Georgia Artists",

Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA) is a contemporary art museum located in Atlanta, Georgia. The museum collects and archives contemporary works by Georgia artists. MOCA GA uses its exhibition schedule to increase its permanen ...

, Atlanta, Georgia (June 22 – August 24, 2013, group) *

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...

, Madrid, Spain (March 8 – June 5, 2011, group) * Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, White Column, New York, NY *

California Museum of Photography The UCR/California Museum of Photography (CMP) is an off-campus institution and department of the UCR College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at University of California, Riverside, the Uni ...

, Riverside, CA *

Center for Creative Photography The Center for Creative Photography (CCP), established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona's Tucson campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American pho ...

, High Museum of Art and Lightwork

Selected solo exhibitions

Whitespace
Atlanta, GA. ''Walking Through the Desert with My Eyes Closed (2021)''
Joshua Tree Art Gallery
Joshua Tree, CA. ''She’s Got a Gun (2018)''
CUE Art Foundation
New York, NY. ''Weathering Time (2017)''
Whitespace
Atlanta, GA. ''Weathering Time (2017)''
The Pearl Conard Art Gallery

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, Mansfield, OH. ''Weathering Time (2015)''
Flux
Atlanta, GA. ''Weathering Time, 1982–2010: Video Projection (2011)''
Quickshot
Atlanta, GA. Organized by Solomon Projects. ''Olympic Shooters (2011)''
Brenau Gallery

Brenau University Brenau University is a private university with its historic campus in Gainesville, Georgia. Founded in 1878, the university enrolls more than 2,800 students from approximately 48 states and 17 foreign countries who seek degrees ranging from asso ...

, Gainesville, GA. ''She’s Got a Gun (2009)''
Solomon Projects
Atlanta. ''She’s Got a Gun (2008)''

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

, Salem, OR. ''James M. Floyd Memorial (2006)''
Solomon Projects
Atlanta. ''Weathering Time,'' video projection (2003) *

Atlanta Contemporary Art Center Atlanta Contemporary is a non-profit, non-collecting institution located in the West Midtown district of Atlanta. It is dedicated to the creation, presentation, and advancement of contemporary art by emerging and established artists. Atlanta Con ...

, Atlanta, GA. ''Weathering Time (2002)''
Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

, San Jose, CA. ''Stopping Power ( 1998)''

Selected group exhibitions

* SHOWING (WORK X FAMILY): (2019) The Art Gallery at the Fulginiti Pavilion, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO (2018) University Art Gallery, California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, CA. (2019) * Space Nau Bostik Ferran Turné 11, Barcelona, Spain. 5th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography. (2018) * Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY. Contemporary Photography 2008-2018. Curated by Kristen Gaylord, Beaumont & Nancy (2018) * Newhall Curatorial Fellow in the Department of Photography at MoMA. (2018) * Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. Every (single) Day. (2018) * Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta. Fast Forward / Rewind. (2017) * Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA. Unloaded. Curated by Dashboard. (2017) * Artwork Network Gallery, Denver CO. Critical Mass Top 50 Show: Markers of Time. Curated by David Rosenberg. (2017) * Work , Release, Norfolk, VA. Under the Gun. Ten photographs. (2016)

Permanent collections

Floyd's work is held in the permanent collections of the following: *

Awards and scholarships

List of awards and scholarships: * 2018: Aaron Siskind Foundation Individual Photographer's Fellowship * 2017: Cue Art Foundation Weathering Time exhibition September 7 – October 21, 2017 * 2017: Finalist,

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

Portfolio Prize * 2016: Cue Art Foundation Fellow: Selected for a solo exhibition at the CUE Art Foundation, New York, NY * 2016: Recipient of the Atlanta Photography Group/ High Museum of Art Purchase Award * 2015: SPE Future Focus Project Support Grant, Society for Photographic Education in Cleveland, OH. * 2015: Artist-in-Residence, Jentel Artist Residency Program, Banner, WY * 2015: Artist-in-Residence, Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Rabun Gap, GA * 2014: John Gutmann Photography Fellowship Award, San Francisco, CA. *2002: Artist Project Grant from the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs *Artist/writing residency at the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, Rabun Gap, GA; Light Work, Syracuse, NY; and The Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency, Joshua Tree, CA. *ICP / GOST First Photo Book Award

Book

''She’s Got a Gun,'' book length manuscript, 140 images, Temple University Press, 2008. The book includes a section on the history of American gun ladies. That is a visual book including 150 historical photographs of women with weapons, 35 of which were captured by Floyd, and a biography of Floyd's Texas background and the loss of her brother.

Published work

* Featured in: **''Showing: Pregnancy in the Workplace'', 2019 **''Contact Sheet Journal'' **''Game Face'' **''Pregnant Pictures'' **''Heart Shots'' **''Gun Women'' **''Real Knockouts'' **''Bombensicher: Atomic Photographers Guild'' **''A Different Kind of War: Vietnam in Art''

Interview

Lois Reitzes. “City Lights: Nancy Floyd.” WABE Atlanta. 24 November 2017.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1956 births Living people People from Wright County, Minnesota Photographers from Georgia (U.S. state) California Institute of the Arts alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni Columbia College Chicago alumni Georgia State University faculty Photographers from Minnesota