In Praise of Blatant Images
In the late 1970s and early 1980s dozens of women gathered in Southern Oregon during the Summer to skill-share and learn photography from one another. Called “ovulars,” the organizer/midwives of the workshops encouraged the participants to experiment with media and theorize their own photographic practices in relation to burgeoning feminist thought. One outcome of the ovular was the annual publication titled The Blatant Image, which sought to give a platform to women photographers from across the United States, and introduced artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, JEB, and Tee Corrine to its broad readership.
About Andy Campbell
Andy Campbell is an Assistant Professor of Critical Studies at the USC-Roski School of Art and Design. A former Critic-in-Residence with the Core Program (2014–2016), Campbell’s work addresses the politics of identities alongside visual and material cultures that have received little to no critical attention. He is also an independent curator and critic, and his writings can be found in Artforum, X-Tra, Piedrín, GLQ, Rhizomes, Aperture, and elsewhere.
