Prominent photographers to speak at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass

Catherine Opie and Dawoud Bey will give a talk at 12:30 p.m., July 24, in Schermer Meeting Hall as part of the Summer Series at Anderson Ranch. The five-week summer series features a different lineup each week. 

Los Angeles-based Opie is known for her striking portraits and photographs that challenge the ideas of the American dream and national identity.

In Chicago, Bey — a MacArthur Fellow — has built a body of work that brings forward the “oft disappeared histories of Black presence in America.”

“That was my dream, to have this conversation with (Bey) for years, and the Ranch made it happen,” Opie said. “The conversation is about what our love of representation is and what we feel photography does in relation to the way we use the medium.”

After more than three decades shaping the next generation of artists, both she and Bey retired last year — Opie from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Bey from Columbia University Chicago.

Opie relayed that it is rare for two photographers whose careers have evolved in parallel, both as photographers and professors, to have this time to reflect publicly together on their work.

Their work became prominent in the years during John Szarkowski’s tenure as director of photography for the Museum of Modern Art, between 1962 to 1991. Opie believes that they were both influenced by Szarkowski’s vision.

“Anderson Ranch is really one of those special places on Earth for artists to come and grow,” Opie said, adding that when you only get to teach there for only a week, there is an impetus to ensure students feel the conversations being held are important and that their work is valuable.

An upcoming exhibition at the new PoMo museum in Trondheim, Norway, will feature her latest work. To prepare, she took a 20-day road trip, photographing the mountains as portraits. She faced challenges with the cold weather and the region’s distinct blue light. 

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While she is at the Ranch, she will recreate those images through ceramics.

“That’s the other thing that’s special about the Ranch. It’s not just one medium, it’s all mediums,” Opie said. “The relationship to how you can learn and grow as an artist is just indescribable compared to other places that I have been in my life.”

For more information, go to andersonranch.org/events/summer-series-cathy-opie-and-dawoud-bey.