Stacy Kranitz (born 7 March 1976) is an American photographer who works in the documentary tradition and lives in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

of eastern Tennessee. She has made long-term personal projects about the

Appalachian region Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

and worked as an assignment photographer for magazines and newspapers. Kranitz's work is held in the collections of the

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

and

Harvard Art Museums The Harvard Art Museums are part of Harvard University and comprise three museums: the Fogg Museum (established in 1895), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (established in 1903), and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum (established in 1985), and four research ...

Early life and education

Kranitz was born in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

, USA. She earned a BA at New York University

Gallatin School of Individualized Study The Gallatin School of Individualized Study (commonly referred to as Gallatin) is a small interdisciplinary college within New York University (NYU). Students at Gallatin design an interdisciplinary program that meets their specific interests a ...

and a MA at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

Career

Since studying she has worked as an assignment photographer for magazines and newspapers such as ''National Geographic'', ''Vanity Fair'' and ''The Atlantic''. Since 2009 Kranitz has been documenting the

of America, whose inhabitants have been typecast as "down-and-out or undignified". She "lives in Appalachia and creates images from her perspective as a participant-observer, immersing herself in the lives of the individuals depicted." The series ''From The Study on Post-Pubescent Manhood'' shows young men at a dystopian compound in the Southern Ohio Appalachian region. Kranitz turns the "reckless, juvenile behavior . .into activities imbued with symbolic importance, icons of social freedom. The lives and actions portrayed by her subjects are therefore simultaneously repellent and attractive." The series ''As it Was Give(n) to Me'', made in Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia is "a dialogue about stereotypes: the mythology they create, their value and their role in society." "Rather than portraying Appalachia as poverty-stricken or selectively focusing on its positive aspects, she sought to capture the complexity of rural, working-class life from a nuanced viewpoint." She did a series of documentary photographs titled ''Fulcrum of Malice'' depicting sights around

Alsen, Louisiana Alsen is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established for freedmen, the community has been plagued by industrial pollution. The community is located less than west of Baker and southwest of Zacha ...

near Baton Rouge. The area, referred to as "cancer alley" is surrounded by industrial pollution. Kranitz states the series "asks us to acknowledge our complicit role in systemic racism through our dependence on plastics and petroleum." A documentary arts collection award was given for it.

Publications

*''The Louisiana Cockfighters Manual''. New York: self-published, 2010. Edition of 100 copies. *''From the Study on Post-Pubescent Manhood''. Canada: Straylight, 2013. Edition of 100 copies. *''Speak Your Piece''. Here, 2016. . Edition of 300 copies. *''The Great Divide''. Lightworks, 2017. With

Zoe Strauss Zoe Strauss (born 1970) is an American photographer"Zoe Strauss: 10 Years"

. 64-page zine. *''As it Was Give(n) to Me''. Twin Palms, 2022. .

Awards

*2015: ''Times Instagram Photographer of the Year *2020:

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

from the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

Collections

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

, TX: 3 prints (as of 3 July 2022) *

, Cambridge, Massachusetts: 7 prints (as of 3 July 2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kranitz, Stacy Documentary photographers 21st-century American photographers Photographers from Kentucky American women photographers University of California, Irvine alumni New York University Gallatin School of Individualized Study alumni People from Frankfort, Kentucky 1976 births Living people Women photojournalists