July 22–December 31, 2017
LaToya Ruby Frazier
(b. 1982)An artist and activist, LaToya Ruby Frazier documents personal and social histories in the United States through photography, video, and performance.
LaToya Ruby Frazier
Grandma Ruby and JC in her Bathroom, 2006Biography
Frazier grew up in Braddock, Pennsylvania, behind the shadow of the steel industry. This foundational experience led to her intimate portraits that chronicle industrialism, healthcare inequities, and environmental crises.
Upon studying the work of Dorothea Lange while at PennWest Edinboro, she reflected on the skewed power dynamics that have long defined documentary photography. As a result, her practice is deeply informed by and built from collaborative storytelling with the people who appear in her work—an approach that echoes the legacy of German artist Joseph Beuys, who believed that socially engaged artists could change the world.
Inspired by works by artist Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison’s photo essay “Harlem Is Nowhere” (1948), Frazier’s work marries art and activism through photography, video, and text to reveal the consequences of economic injustices on an intimate, human scale. Describing her work, she says, “I am showing dark things about America because I love my country and countrymen. When you love somebody, you tell them the truth. Even if it hurts.”[1]
Frazier earned her BFA from PennWest Edinboro and an MFA from Syracuse University. She also studied at the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program and the American Academy Berlin. She received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her work has appeared in Studio Museum exhibitions such as VideoStudio: Changing Same (2010) and 20/20: The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art (2017).
[1] Zoë Lescaze, “LaToya Ruby Frazier, American Witness,” New York Times Style Magazine, March 1, 2021, nytimes.com/2021/03/01/t-magazine/latoya-ruby-frazier-photography.html.
Exhibitions and Events
Past Exhibitions and Events
LaToya Ruby Frazier
(b. 1982)An artist and activist, LaToya Ruby Frazier documents personal and social histories in the United States through photography, video, and performance.
LaToya Ruby Frazier
Grandma Ruby and JC in her Bathroom, 2006LaToya Ruby Frazier
Grandma Ruby and JC in her Bathroom, 2006
Grandma Ruby and JC in her BathroomGelatin silver print16 x 20 inchesThe Studio Museum in Harlem; bequest of Peggy Cooper Cafritz (1947–2018), Washington, D.C. collector, educator, and activist2018.40.89
Biography
Frazier grew up in Braddock, Pennsylvania, behind the shadow of the steel industry. This foundational experience led to her intimate portraits that chronicle industrialism, healthcare inequities, and environmental crises.
Upon studying the work of Dorothea Lange while at PennWest Edinboro, she reflected on the skewed power dynamics that have long defined documentary photography. As a result, her practice is deeply informed by and built from collaborative storytelling with the people who appear in her work—an approach that echoes the legacy of German artist Joseph Beuys, who believed that socially engaged artists could change the world.
Inspired by works by artist Gordon Parks and Ralph Ellison’s photo essay “Harlem Is Nowhere” (1948), Frazier’s work marries art and activism through photography, video, and text to reveal the consequences of economic injustices on an intimate, human scale. Describing her work, she says, “I am showing dark things about America because I love my country and countrymen. When you love somebody, you tell them the truth. Even if it hurts.”[1]
Frazier earned her BFA from PennWest Edinboro and an MFA from Syracuse University. She also studied at the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program and the American Academy Berlin. She received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her work has appeared in Studio Museum exhibitions such as VideoStudio: Changing Same (2010) and 20/20: The Studio Museum in Harlem and Carnegie Museum of Art (2017).
[1] Zoë Lescaze, “LaToya Ruby Frazier, American Witness,” New York Times Style Magazine, March 1, 2021, nytimes.com/2021/03/01/t-magazine/latoya-ruby-frazier-photography.html.