For the creatives in our midst, why not take a look at some of our visual recommendations for you to learn more about this topic and how it still remains a prevalent issue today!
You can find all the texts mentioned below at the Atrium in Cardiff or online on FindIt
Photography Recommendations:
Letizia Battaglia: Photography as a Life Choice by Letizia Battaglia:
A photobook created from the work of Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia, a Sicilian photographer who began documenting the impact of the Mafia in Sicily in the 1970s.
The Art of Lee Miller:
A fantastic book following the work and life of Lee Miller: a woman who went from Vogue model to Vogue’s war correspondent sat in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub. Antony Penrose - Miller’s son and the director of the Lee Miller archives - refers to the book as “the most scholarly, accessible, and exciting writing on Lee Miller to date.”
Yayoi Kusama by Laura Hoptman, Udo Kultermann & Yayoi Kusama:
Sometimes called the ‘Princess of Polka Dots’, Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist whose work focuses on mental health. Her work is bright, colourful and thought-provoking, and she is a fascinating artist.
Women By Women:
A collection of erotic photography taken of women by women, within the sensuality and sexuality, I find a kind of understanding between subject and artist.
Dorothea Lange by Mark Durden:
Dorothea Lange was one of the most influential female documentary photographers of the Twentieth Century - especially in the United States. She is now often criticised for her approach to photographing marginalised groups. This book is a fantastic collection of Mark Durden’s critical writings on Lange and her approach to photography.
Film Recommendations:
The Watermelon Woman mockumentary:
A mockumentary that explores representation for black lesbians. It focuses on Cheryl, a black lesbian filmmaker who is researching a black 1930s actress who is only known as The Watermelon Woman. It was written, directed, and edited by Cheryl Dunye, and was credited as being the first movie directed by a black lesbian.
A Private War directed by Matthew Heineman:
Starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Colvin, A Private War is an incredible account of the last years of Marie Colvin’s life and career as a war journalist. The film follows her and colleagues through warzones, as well as examining PTSD and the need for the adrenaline rush of a warzone. Archived footage is made use of throughout the film, using interviews of Colvin as well as her last transmission to news channels on 21st February 2012, hours before her death.
It’s impossible to look away from the screen as you watch the interactions between Colvin and Paul Conroy (play by Jamie Dornan), a war photographer who went on to write Under the Wire about his time with Colvin.
Radioactive directed by Marjane Satrapi:
A 2019 biopic starring Rosamund Pike as Marie Sklodowska-Curie. The film follows Marie as she navigates the world of science as a woman with her husband Pierre, discovering polonium and radium before her death in 1934.
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