Jane Evelyn Atwood often does not leave a photo assignment until she completely understands the subject.
Whether it’s photographing the first person in France with AIDS for nearly five months until his death, or spending 10 years visiting 40 women’s prisons in nine countries, photojournalist Atwood describes her work method as “obsessive.”
Atwood will give the Vivian R. Shaw and Penny W. Stamps Lecture at 5 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Michigan Theater. She will discuss her career and the process of how she works to illuminate the humanity in people.
A Paris resident, Atwood says she is fascinated by people and by the idea of exclusion. She takes pictures in black and white, and color.
“Although I’ve always photographed people who might seem a little strange to the rest of us, I try not to highlight this strangeness in my photos,” she says. “Rather, I try to show my subjects as the human beings they are.”
She focuses on stories that compel her, devoting to each subject the time necessary to tell the entire story. This included taking pictures of prostitutes and their customers in a Paris building 1976.
“I wanted to know them, and photographing them became a way to do that,” Atwood says. “I ended up spending every night, all night, in that building for one year. The photos I did became my first book.”
Atwood wrote six books, including “Too Much Time,” which involved women in prison, and “Exterieur Nuit” about blind people — mostly children. Life Magazine, The New York Times, Paris Match, Marie-Claire and Elle published her photos. Atwood received many awards and her work appears in public and private collections worldwide.
An art exhibit of her work, entitled “Haiti,” is on display until Dec. 15 at Lane Hall, 204 S. State. Her photos of women in prison appear until Nov. 7 in the Slusser Gallery at the School of Art and Design, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Atwood will hold a Witt Residency at the School of Art & Design during the week of Oct. 20.
