Photo L.A. to Honor CalArts Faculty Jo Ann Callis

Photo L.A. runs Feb. 1-3 at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. | Image: Photo L.A.

This weekend, Photo L.A. honors artist, photographer and CalArts faculty Jo Ann Callis as part of the 27th edition of the photographic arts fair. Taking place at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Photo L.A. runs from Feb. 1 through Feb. 3, with an opening night preview on Jan. 31, during which Callis will be recognized.

Callis has been a central figure in the Southern California photography scene since the 1970s, most known for her poetic composition and provocatively staged scenarios. Many of her critically acclaimed photos comment on the female experience and problems of domestic life.

Throughout her career, Callis has received three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other honors, and has taught at CalArts since 1976. In 2009, a retrospective of her work, Woman Twirling, was presented by the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

A post featuring Jo Ann Callis, ‘Milk Bath,’ 1979, Archival Pigment Print shared by Photo L.A. (@photolafair) on Jan 23, 2019 at 8:53pm PST

 (Image: Jo Ann Callis, Milk Bath, 1979, Archival Pigment Print)

On Saturday Jan. 2, the fair will also feature Callis on a panel with artist and CalArts student Brandy Trigueros (Art BFA 19), independent curator Claudia Bohn-Spector and LACMA’s Curator of Photography Rebecca Morse. According to the Photo L.A. program, the panel “explores what Callis’ work can tell us about womanhood and female-art making during a politically charged time in which her concerns appear as germane and compelling as ever.”

Additionally, Callis’ work will be displayed at the fair in Making It Up: Photographs from the Michael and Jane Wilson Trust Collection. This selection of photographs illustrates an impetus of exploration, collaboration and performance among contemporary women photographers, and includes work by Nancy Burson, Nancy Honey, Graciela Iturbide, Barbara Kasten, Nikki S. Lee, Mary Ellen Mark, Alex Prager, Susan Rankaitis, Marcia Resnick, Cindy Sherman, Taryn Simon and Catherine Wagner.

Other programming highlights from the weekend include:

• Critic, historian, and CalArts faculty Norman Klein alongside photographers Janna Ireland, Mona Kuhn and Mark Ruwedel for a panel titled, Aperture Magazine: Los Angeles – City of Magazines;
• Michael Fried, modernist art critic and art historian, in conversation with Thomas Demand;
• Britt Salvesen, curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, Print and Drawing Department, on a panel titled Between Totalization and Difference: Opticality and Optical Technology in Art Today in dialogue with Matthew Lax, Victoria Fu and Carter Mull; and
• Underfire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro (HBO) Documentary Film Screening and Conversation with Tony Vaccaro.

CalArts and its Photo and Media program will also have a presence at Photo L.A. Visit booth C10 to see some of the latest works from CalArtians.

A portion of the opening night’s ticket sales benefit Venice Arts, a nonprofit organization that works to transform the lives of Los Angeles’ low-income youth through photography and film education.

Related: A CalArts Connection: BFA Candidate Brandy Trigueros Interviews CalArts Faculty Jo Ann Callis for Lenscratch

—Sarah Yanni