Mariah is an American artist who’s primarily utilized photography as her artform for her visual storytelling. We connected through our trade organization ASMP, the American Society of Media Photographers. This organization’s core mission is to advocate, educate, and provide a community for image makers.
Mariah was early in creating a personal project, a photo essay and potential book about small town American Legions. I admired her dedication to create her artistic vision.
In April 2018 Mariah encouraged me to enroll in an ASMP sponsored seminar led by local photographer Paul Elledge, a photographer who I very much respected. After 3 days of introspection of my work and reflecting on my career, Paul challenged me to do a personal project. I had never made time for those. He made clear that “personal projects show who you are, what you stand for, and will provide the outside world a real view of you.” A few weeks later this Modern Rosie project was born.
Early on, while thinking about the Modern Rosies in my life, I asked Mariah to be part of the project to represent women photographers. I knew that women were underrepresented as visual story tellers, which meant that women’s perspectives were underrepresented. I fully admired her work and her as a person. In the fall we coordinated her Modern Rosie portrait.
Mariah arrived in traditional artist black attire and black boots. We borrowed a peer’s 8x10 view camera, a camera that screams “art photographer.” We set up in front of the Centennial Monument in Chicago’s Logan Square, a neighborhood named after the American Civil War General John Logan. This location felt patriotic, reflecting a bit on her American Legion efforts. She tied on the red Rosie bandana, we set up in the street and clicked away.
Mariah stands firmly on Kedzie Avenue fiercely looking to capture people’s essence amidst society’s traffic. Her work takes on risk, a feeling most women feel daily. The traffic heeds to Mariah’s presence, a symbol of women positioned squarely in the middle of the fast paced world. Forcing people to recognize, see, hear, and respect all women.
Photographed October 2018