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

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. ...

. Retrieved September 11, 2014. and a nominee member of

Magnum Photos Magnum Photos is an international photographic cooperative owned by its photographer-members, with offices in New York City, Paris, London and Tokyo. It was founded in 1947 in Paris by photographers Robert Capa, David Seymour (photographer), Davi ...

.Eichel, Molly
"Zoe Strauss accepted into Magnum Photos"
''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. The ''Dail ...

''. Retrieved September 11, 2014. She uses

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

as a primary setting and subject for her work. Curator Peter Barberie identifies her as a

street photographer Street photography (also sometimes called candid photography) is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and cand ...

, like

Walker Evans Walker Evans (November 3, 1903 – April 10, 1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Much of Evans' work from ...

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

, and has said "the woman and man on the street, yearning to be heard, are the basis of her art." In 2006 her work was included in the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...

and her solo exhibition, ''Ramp Project: Zoe Strauss,'' was shown at the

Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum in Philadelphia. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated to e ...

."Ramp Project: Zoe Strauss"
Institute of Contemporary Art. Retrieved October 6, 2014. In 2012 a mid-career retrospective, ''Zoe Strauss: 10 Years,'' was shown at

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, accompanied in Philadelphia by a display of 54 billboards showing her photographs, and at the

in New York City. Strauss received a Seedling Award from the Leeway Foundation in 2002,"Zoe Strauss SA '02"
Leeway Foundation. Retrieved October 6, 2014. a Pew Fellowship in 2005, a USA

Gund Gund is a Canadian-owned manufacturer of plush stuffed animals. The company is based in Edison, New Jersey, and distributes throughout the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America. Gund is currently ru ...

Fellowship and a grant of $50,000 by

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

in 2007, and a

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 ...

in 2017.

Life and work

Strauss was born in 1970 in

."Zoe Strauss"
2013

Carnegie Museum of Art The Carnegie Museum of Art, is an art museum in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally known as the Department of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute and was at what is now the Main Branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsbur ...

Carnegie International The Carnegie International is a North American exhibition of contemporary art from around the globe. It was first organized at the behest of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on November 5, 1896 in Pittsburgh. Carnegie established th ...

. Retrieved September 11, 2014. Her father died when she was 5. She was the first member of her immediate family to graduate from high school. For her 30th birthday she was given a camera and started photographing in the city's marginal neighborhoods. She is a photo-based installation artist who uses Philadelphia as a primary setting and subject for her work. Strauss typically photographs overlooked (or purposefully avoided) details with a humanist perspective and eye for composure. In 1995, Strauss started the Philadelphia Public Art Project, a one-woman organization whose mission is to give the citizens of Philadelphia access to art in their everyday lives."Paul Brach Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Zoe Strauss"

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 ...

. Retrieved September 11, 2014. Strauss calls the Project an "epic narrative" of her own neighborhood. "When I started shooting, it was as if somewhere hidden in my head I had been waiting for this," she has said. Between 2000 and 2011, Strauss's photographic work culminated in a yearly ''Under I-95'' show which took place in a public space beneath an

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

highway overpass in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, where it appeared in 2012, and was also shown at the

, New York City, in 2013/2014. The show was a mid-career retrospective, building upon Strauss' ten years of photographic works, shown yearly from 2001 up to 2010. The 2012 exhibition was the first critical assessment of Strauss' ten-year project, and was accompanied by a 250-illustration catalogue, ''Zoe Strauss: 10 Years.'' The 2012 Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibition included the installation throughout Philadelphia of 54 billboards featuring Strauss' photographs. Although they could be viewed individually, the images were loosely structured around the themes of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

,'' journey and homecoming. In this, the ''Billboard Project'' was similar to Strauss' annual I-95 exhibition which she describes as an "epic narrative about the beauty and struggle of everyday life". The ''Billboard Project'' included photographs from Strauss's travels around the country, from the Gulf of Mexico to Fairbanks, AK. She frequently photographs near her grandparents' former home at 16th and Susquehanna. Her photographs include shuttered buildings, empty parking lots and vacant meeting halls in South Philadelphia. Strauss says her work is "a narrative about the beauty and difficulty of everyday life." In July 2012 Strauss was elected into the

agency as a nominee. Strauss served as a Dodd Chair (2014–2015) at the

Lamar Dodd School of Art The Lamar Dodd School of Art is the art school of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, United States. History In 1927, the University of Georgia’s board of trustees voted to establish ...

Publications

*''America.'' AMMO, 2008. . *''Zoe Strauss: 10 Years.'' Philadelphia:

; New Haven:

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, 2012. . Exhibition catalogue.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2002–2009: ''Works-in-Progress,'' Southwark Community Center,

Southwark, Philadelphia Southwark was originally the Southwark District, a colonial-era municipality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Today, it is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Because of its location south of the ...

, last week of October annually * 2001–2010: ''Under I-95 exhibit'', under

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

, Front St. and Mifflin St., Philadelphia, the first weekend of May annually * 2006: ''Projected and Selected Images'', Acuna-Hansen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA * 2006: ''Ramp Project'',

* 2007: ''I-95 Works in Progress, Etc.'' Galerie, Prague * 2007: ''If You Reading This'', Silverstein Photography, New York City * 2008: ''Zoe Strauss: Works in Progress'', Peeler Art Center,

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...

Greencastle, Indiana Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylv ...

* 2009: ''America: We Love Having You Here'',

Bruce Silverstein Gallery Bruce Silverstein Gallery is a photographic art gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, New York City. It was started in 2001 by Bruce Silverstein. Archived February 6, 2008. The gallery is a member of the Association of International Pho ...

, New York City * 2010: ''Zoe Strauss: Works for Columbus, OH'',

Wexner Center for the Arts The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art". The Wexner Center opened in November 1989, named in honor of the father of Limite ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

* 2012: ''Zoe Strauss: 10 Years,''

, Philadelphia, January 2012 – April 2012; ''Zoe Strauss: 10 Years: A Slideshow,''

, New York City, 2012;"Zoe Strauss – Exhibitions – Bruce Silverstein"
Bruce Silverstein Gallery. Retrieved October 6, 2014.

, New York City, October 2013 – January 2014.

Group exhibitions

* 1997: Indianapolis Installation Festival, Whirlforce Medical Research Laboratories,

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Juried Exhibition, 3rd in show. * 2002: Leeway Award winners group show,

Philadelphia Art Alliance The Philadelphia Art Alliance at University of the Arts is a multidisciplinary arts center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. It is the oldest multidisciplinary arts center in the United States for visua ...

, Philadelphia * 2004: ''Big Nothing Cabaret,''

* 2004: ''Works on Paper 2004,'' 23rd biennial juried show for area artists,

Arcadia University Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark. History Be ...

, Glenside, PA * 2006: ''Whitney Biennial: Day for Night,'' 73rd

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

, New York City"Whitney Biennial 2006: Day for Night"

. Retrieved October 6, 2014. * 2006: ''Summer Vacation: Photographs from the Collection'',

, Philadelphia * 2006: ''This Is America,''

Centraal Museum The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wtewael is by a lon ...

Utrecht, Netherlands Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

* 2008: ''History Keeps Me Awake at Night: A Genealogy of Wojnarowicz,'' PPOW Gallery, New York City * 2008: L’Été photographique de Lectoure, Lectoure, France. * 2008: ''Who's Afraid of America?,'' Wonderland Art Space, Copenhagen * 2009: ''On the Scene: Jason Lazarus, Wolfgang Plöger, Zoe Strauss,''

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, Chicago, IL * 2010: ''Queer Brighton:

Molly Landreth Molly Landreth is an American freelance photographer and artist born in Washington. Her large-format portraits address topics such as gender and sexuality in the LGBT community. She began documenting the queer community in 2004, hoping to redefine ...

& Zoe Strauss,'' Lighthouse, Brighton, UK. Part of

Brighton Photo Biennial Brighton Photo Biennial (BPB), now known as Photoworks Festival, is a month-long festival of photography in Brighton, England, produced by Photoworks. The festival began in 2003 and is often held in October. It plays host to curated exhibitions a ...

. * 2013: ''Homesteading'' was part of the 2013

, Pittsburgh

Commissions

* 2004–2005 St. James collection, 200 photos * 2007

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Lincoln Financial Field Lincoln Financial Field is an American football stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It serves as the home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. ...

, vinyl print of ''Mattress Flip'' * 2008 World Class Boxing, Art Miami

Collections

Strauss' work is held in the following permanent public collection: *

Awards

*2002: Seedling Award, Leeway Foundation, Philadelphia, PA *2004: Joint winner, Friends of Arcadia Awards, during ''Works on Paper 2004,''

, Glenside, PA *2005: Pew Fellowship in the Arts,

Pew Center for Arts & Heritage The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a nonprofit grantmaking organization and knowledge-sharing hub for arts and culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US established in 2005. In 2008, Paula Marincola was named the first executive director. The ...

, Philadelphia, PA *2007: $50,000 grant from

, Chicago, IL"Paul Brach Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Zoe Strauss"
CalArts. Retrieved October 6, 2014. *2017:

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 ...

References

External links

*
"Zoe Strauss: ‘10 Years, a Slideshow’"
– Review of ''I-95 Project'' exhibition at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, in ''The New York Times'' by Roberta Smith, 2012

– Review of ''Zoe Strauss: Ten Years'' exhibition at Philadelphia Museum of Art, in ''The New York Times'' by Karen Rosenbergjan 2012
Strauss' page at Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York City
(as archived at the Internet Archive in 2008)
Flickr set of Strauss' 2006 I-95 show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, Zoe 1970 births Living people American photographers American lesbian artists Artists from Philadelphia Pew Fellows in the Arts Philadelphia High School for Girls alumni American women photographers Magnum photographers 21st-century American women artists Women photojournalists