Lindsey Mott - Weekly Artist Post

Stacy Kranitz

In Stacy Kranitz's series "As It Was Give(in) To Me,"she photographs her visit to central Appalachia. A number of these photographs are in darkly lit interiors, and Kranitz utilizes an external flash to light her subjects. Her pictures have a candid nature to them, even though the subject is often looking at the camera. I think she achieves this by photographing her subjects in environments that are familiar, doing action that they are familiar with.

According to her website, the series deals with "representations of realities and the inherent flaws and ruptures in constructed notions of truth". I think Appalachia is a place that almost anyone in America holds preconceived notions about. It is known as an extremely backwards place. She plays on both our perception of people who live there, as well as their perceptions of themselves, revealing that both are flawed.

Kranitz series fascinates me, because she doesn't shy away from depicting people in a way that's demeaning. She has images of snake handlers, the KKK, stripers, etc. She doesn't feel conflicted about reproducing reality the way that she's sees it. She is unapologetic, even though she admits that her own perception is flawed.