Zoe Perkins

BFA Artist Statement

April, 2006

These photographs are narrative portraits of the everyday lives of three women who have worked at strip clubs. I chose to compose the photographs with multiple images to achieve a larger scale and a greater sense of space.

I began working with these women last fall; chatting, discussing, and then photographing. I learned about these women's lives and how they view the dynamics of a club and its dancers. I was especially interested in what these women had to say about objectification vs. empowerment, and how these ideas related to their work. We also talked about how their job interacted with their home life and relationships, and this is where I wanted to focus my project.  

Through the course of the project, I have come to realize the importance of my role as the photographer, and further my ideas of what I hope art can do. In photographing I was influenced by Eugene Smith, a photojournalist who believed that the subject should come first and the story or audience should second. I have also been influenced by critical theorists who see the artist as a mediator and art as an interaction. I want to dedicate this work to my models for their openness and kindness.