"Keri Pickett's photographs
aren't from a distant voyeuristic perspective, shielded
behind a camera. Hers is the eye of a member of the
family who doesn't betray, but reveals the sacred life of
her dear subjects. This book is a documentation of a
modern day Midsummer Night's Dream."
-- Amy Ray,
Indigo Girls
"Here, Northwoods
Faeries explain why they gather together, what brings
them back and how being at this gathering helps them in
their personal quest. This is a glimpse of a living
circle of souls, longing to find their voice, in a
material-based culture that worships the individual but
fears those who are different. This is the story of a
community who created a fabulous place unhindered by
social convention, where all are loved for their humanity
and their pretty dresses."
-- Keri
Pickett, photographer/author
The Project
In the Spring of 2000, Aperture will publish FAERIES:
Visions, Voices & Pretty Dresses, a book by
photographer Keri Pickett.
Keri Pickett's most recent project focuses on a group of
self-proclaimed radical faeries, mostly gay men who gather
for an annual 10-day camping excursion in the wooded,
community-owned sanctuary of Kawashaway in Minnesota. Her
photographs span six years of these summer gatherings at
which men from across the country, young and old alike, join
together as friends and as family.
These elegant images are intimate records of spiritual
exploration and a unique closeness found in an idyllic
setting far away from the everyday lives of the faeries. The
photographs convey comfort and comedy, solace and joy,
contemplation and exuberance. The surprising sight of men in
drag against the backdrop of a forest lends the volume an
additional and unusual visual drama.
Pickett skillfully captures the poignant gesture of an
embrace, the poetic symmetry of an empty tent, the
naturalness and beauty of naked bodies, and a gleefully
chaotic abundance of costume jewelry. Together, the numerous
images in Faeries: Visions, Voices, & Pretty
Dresses reveal the cautious and joyful evolution of a
community.
Keri Pickett explains her connection to the faeries
community she photographs: "When I was first with the
faeries, I had stepped outside my usual culture and I was
looking in, trying to understand. The initial draw to the
community was my photographer's eye, which sees the
unexpected beauty of drag set in the woods. But during my
time with them, I have realized that the images and words
are about myself as well I think being a faerie means
creatively focusing on discovering self, while nurturing a
healthy and playful spirit. It means celebrating the gift of
being alive, while honoring the unique mix of masculine and
feminine within everyone. There is an inspirational message
for many in this approach to life."
An extended text transcribed and edited from the
photographer's conversations with members of the faeries
accompanies Pickett's remarkable black-and-white duo tone
photographs. In these words, faeries named Burley Bones,
Salamander and Rahne tell their own tales of friendship, the
process of coming out to their families and community,
magic, religion and ritual. These voices speak of
self-discovery, personal growth, and a sought-after sense of
safety in themes gracefully and effectively echoed by
Pickett's classically beautiful and often humorous
photographs. The stirring poetry of James Broughton will
also be featured in the publication.
About the Photographer
Keri Pickett is a
documentary photographer and photojournalist based in
Minneapolis. Her numerous grants and awards have included a
1997/1998 McKnight Fellowship, a 1992 Bush Foundation Artist
Fellowship, a 1992 Jerome Travel and Study Grant and a 1990
Jerome Foundation Grant, a 1991 Minnesota State Arts Board
Grant, and a 1990 National Endowment for the Arts
Photography Fellowship and she was nominated for the
International Center of Photography Infinity Award in
1993.
Her first book, Love in the 90s, B.B. & Jo; The Story
of a Lifelong Love, A Granddaughter's Portrait by Keri
Pickett (Warner Books, 1995), had a initial printing of
150,000 copies. Love in the 90s won the American
Photography 12 Book Award in 1996 and Pickett was featured
on numerous television programs including "Good Morning
America". Pickett's photographs have been seen in such
publications as American Photo, Aperture, Life, New York
Times Magazine, People, and the Village Voice, among others.
Faeries: Visions, Voices & Pretty Dresses is
Pickett's first book with Aperture.
About Aperture
Aperture Foundation is dedicated to promoting photography as
a unique form of artistic expression. This purpose includes
illuminating social, cultural and environmental issues
through the medium. Aperture strives to enhance individual
awareness and understanding of humans and their universe and
its potentials. (Aperture is a 501(c)3, an educational,
charitable organization and a public foundation.)
Founded in 1952 by a group of photographers and art
historians, including Ansel Adams, Dorotha Lange, Minor
White, Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, and Barbara Morgan, among
others, Aperture today -- more than any other organization
-- reaches the most widespread audience for significant
photography both in this country and around the world. In
addition to its acclaimed quarterly of photography, Aperture
has published a library of more than 450 award-winning
books, works in collaboration with museums, publishers, and
academic institutions throughout the world, and develops
traveling exhibitions that have drawn millions of spectators
worldwide. Other aspects of the Foundation include the Paul
Strand archive, Work-Scholar Program, photogravure workshop,
and various educational programs that serve a widespread
community of interest.
Contact Information
This book and a few glowing reviews are available at amazon.com.
For further information on Faeries: Visions, Voices &
Pretty Dresses or the Aperture Foundation, please
contact Sara Federlein, development manager, at (212)
505-5555, ext. 339.
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