A Photographic Life - 134: Plus Lois Greenfield

In episode 134 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed considering what makes an iconic image and music photography, the importance of editing, and the appropriation of 'lockdown' as a fashion photography moment. Plus this week photographer Lois Greenfield takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Lois Greenfield began her career as a photojournalist, but was drawn to the graphic potential of dance and covered the experimental New York dance scene for the Village Voice from 1973 to the mid 90’s. In 1982, she opened a studio where she could not only control the lighting, but could also direct the dancers in her exploration of the expressive possibilities of photographed movement. Her unique approach to photographing the human form in motion has radically redefined the genre and influenced a generation of photographers. She has worked with  most of the contemporary dance companies, from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to American Ballet Theatre. Many of these photos appeared in her two books, Breaking Bounds, 1992, and Airborne 1998. Her latest book, Lois Greenfield: Moving Still, was released in 2015, and the accompanying exhibition has been on tour within the US and to Russia, China, and Colombia. In 2014/2015 Lois was an Artist in Residence at NYU/Tisch Department of Dance and New Media. In 2015, she was honored with the Dance in Focus award given by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Dance Films Association, and in 2016 she received a lifetime achievement award from The McCallum Theatre Institute. Her clients include, Disney, Orangina, Proctor & Gamble, Pepsi, Sony, Hanes, and Rolex. www.loisgreenfield.com Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Taylor Francis 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Taylor Francis 2019). His book What Does Photography Mean to You? including 89 photographers who have contributed to the A Photographic Life podcast is on sale now £9.99 https://bluecoatpress.co.uk/product/what-does-photography-mean-to-you/ © Grant Scott 2020