Debbie Grossman visited Lafayette College the week of October 19th to give a lecture on her projects, critique the work of the photography honors thesis candidates, and work on her upcoming project. Grossman’s lecture was centered on her most recent project, My Pie Town in which she edited and recontextualized a series of Russell Lee photographs that depict a small farming community in 1940. Using image-editing software, Grossman removed all traces of men from the photos, reimagining the town as community of strong and proficient women. Grossman’s Pie Town conveys a sense of female empowerment that is absent in Lee’s original images. Grossman also discussed the difficult balancing act of working as an artist while maintaining a full-time job and raising a family.
During her visit, Grossman also met with the four photography honors thesis candidates to discuss their yearlong projects. The artist encouraged the students to leave their artistic comfort zones and explore difficult topics and new techniques including the usage of appropriated images. Her insight contributed to the direction of the students’ projects.
Debbie Grossman critiques the work of Honors student Elizabeth Day