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Francesca Woodman: On Being an Angel
Francesca Woodman (1958–1981) created a body of fascinating photographic works in a few intense years before her premature death. Her oeuvre has been the object of numerous in-depth studies and major exhibitions in recent years, and her photographs have inspired artists all over the world. Woodman’s photographs explore gender, representation, sexuality and body. Her production includes several self-portraits, using herself and her friends as models. The figures are often placed behind furniture and other interior elements; occasionally, the images are blurred in such a way that their identity is hidden from the viewer. The intimate nature of the subject matter is enhanced by the small formats. Woodman worked in unusual settings such as derelict buildings, using mirrors and glass to evoke surrealist and occasionally claustrophobic moods.
Moderna Museet will present some hundred photographs by Francesca Woodman, with a selection from the series and themes she explored. The exhibition is produced by Moderna Museet in association with Betty and George Woodman and the Estate of Francesca Woodman. Alongside this exhibition, Moderna Museet will present a compilation of photography from the same period from its collection, to show Francesca Woodman in context and expand the perspective on her oeuvre to the public.
Moderna Museet will present some hundred photographs by Francesca Woodman, with a selection from the series and themes she explored. The exhibition is produced by Moderna Museet in association with Betty and George Woodman and the Estate of Francesca Woodman. Alongside this exhibition, Moderna Museet will present a compilation of photography from the same period from its collection, to show Francesca Woodman in context and expand the perspective on her oeuvre to the public.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
674 people want to read
About the author
Francesca Woodman
19 books52 followersFrancesca Woodman (USA, 1958 – 1981) was a photographer best known for her black and white pictures featuring herself and female models. Many of her photographs show young women who are nude, who are blurred (due to movement and long exposure times), who are merging with their surroundings, or whose faces are obscured. Her work continues to be the subject of much attention, years after she committed suicide at the age of 22.
Francesca Woodman was born April 3, 1958, in Denver, Colorado, to well-known artists George Woodman and Betty Woodman. Her older brother Charles later became an associate professor of electronic art. Her mother is Jewish and her father is from a Protestant background.
Woodman attended public school in Boulder, Colorado, between 1963 and 1971 except for second grade in Italy. She began high school in 1972 at the private Massachusetts boarding school Abbot Academy, where she began to develop her photographic skills. Abbot Academy merged with Phillips Academy in 1973; Woodman graduated from the public Boulder High School in 1975. Through 1975, she spent summers with her family in Italy. She spent her time in Italy in the Florentine countryside, where she lived on an old farm with her parents.
Beginning in 1975, Woodman attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. She studied in Rome between 1977 and 1978 in a RISD honors program. As she spoke fluent Italian, she was able to befriend Italian intellectuals and artists. She went back to Rhode Island in late 1978 to graduate from RISD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesc...
Francesca Woodman was born April 3, 1958, in Denver, Colorado, to well-known artists George Woodman and Betty Woodman. Her older brother Charles later became an associate professor of electronic art. Her mother is Jewish and her father is from a Protestant background.
Woodman attended public school in Boulder, Colorado, between 1963 and 1971 except for second grade in Italy. She began high school in 1972 at the private Massachusetts boarding school Abbot Academy, where she began to develop her photographic skills. Abbot Academy merged with Phillips Academy in 1973; Woodman graduated from the public Boulder High School in 1975. Through 1975, she spent summers with her family in Italy. She spent her time in Italy in the Florentine countryside, where she lived on an old farm with her parents.
Beginning in 1975, Woodman attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island. She studied in Rome between 1977 and 1978 in a RISD honors program. As she spoke fluent Italian, she was able to befriend Italian intellectuals and artists. She went back to Rhode Island in late 1978 to graduate from RISD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesc...
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 2, 2020
Hacía mucho que iba detrás de los libros de Francesca, aprovechando la visita de la exposición a Madrid conseguí el catálogo y me ha encantado. Muchas fotografías que no se encuentran en internet, vídeos y los textos sobre su trabajo. Fantástica.
January 3, 2018
The images are printed quite small, but contains several that I would want enlarged to the size of a wall, to remind me often. Of the other images, there are some I want walk around inside.
January 19, 2025
She is so courageous.
August 24, 2018
Francesca Woodman died early; she jumped out of a window when she was only 22. Like a lot of great artists this particular asterisk to her life has, to many, become the whole story. Which is a shame, because her photographs deserve to be seen without the specter of death and depression hanging over them. Like Van Gogh and Sylvia Plath, to collapse the interpretations of such haunted and beautiful work to a single perspective is to diminish the breadth of its accomplishment.
If you've never seen Woodman's work, do yourself a favor and run a Google image search for her name. Afterward, consider buying a copy of On Being an Angel. It's the most comprehensive book of her work to date, and well worth the asking price.
If you've never seen Woodman's work, do yourself a favor and run a Google image search for her name. Afterward, consider buying a copy of On Being an Angel. It's the most comprehensive book of her work to date, and well worth the asking price.
July 5, 2022
Francesca Woodman was a genius and not the typical art student. Nothing about her is typical, even the fact that she threw herself off the top of a building in a fit of depression. While I don't dwell on that, knowing her suicide does affect how I view some of her art. Not all aspects though.
I have been looking at this book off and on for over a year now and this is the first time I felt I could close it for a bit. Woodman was a master of low light and used little things, odd things to enhance her art. Mostly she used her body and well, perhaps geometry. Angles. Light is a given. Many of the images in this book are decidedly about the female body. Some are not. I don't believe, and we have absolutely no proof, that any of these images are related to general gender and feminist theories. Woodman was not interested in that. She was psychological, influenced by surrealists, and maybe at times, she was just purely whimsical. It's hard for me to say right now. She produced 1000s of images and was dead by age 22. That's not average in any way. For example her still life photos of birds and such are experiments of form and so forth. It is her images that show motion and time, her images of her disappearing into the backgrounds that are the more fascinating for me.
Some people look at her work and want to view it as a young person, but I think in some ways it was very mature and we should look beyond that label. She was incredibly gifted and way ahead of her peers at school, etc. She was original, haunting.
I am going to write some essays on my blog on a few selected pieces from this book but not yet. There I will critique this book more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone who loves photography. This book is expensive now. I've owned it for years. But you can probably find it at your local library through a loan program or a school library. It's one of my favorite books.
I have been looking at this book off and on for over a year now and this is the first time I felt I could close it for a bit. Woodman was a master of low light and used little things, odd things to enhance her art. Mostly she used her body and well, perhaps geometry. Angles. Light is a given. Many of the images in this book are decidedly about the female body. Some are not. I don't believe, and we have absolutely no proof, that any of these images are related to general gender and feminist theories. Woodman was not interested in that. She was psychological, influenced by surrealists, and maybe at times, she was just purely whimsical. It's hard for me to say right now. She produced 1000s of images and was dead by age 22. That's not average in any way. For example her still life photos of birds and such are experiments of form and so forth. It is her images that show motion and time, her images of her disappearing into the backgrounds that are the more fascinating for me.
Some people look at her work and want to view it as a young person, but I think in some ways it was very mature and we should look beyond that label. She was incredibly gifted and way ahead of her peers at school, etc. She was original, haunting.
I am going to write some essays on my blog on a few selected pieces from this book but not yet. There I will critique this book more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for anyone who loves photography. This book is expensive now. I've owned it for years. But you can probably find it at your local library through a loan program or a school library. It's one of my favorite books.
June 14, 2024
When I first discovered Francesca Woodman, I saw just a single photograph of hers in a NY Times advertisement for a gallery sale of some of her pictures. Her career lasted just 8 years, from age 14 to age 22, when she committed a messy suicide by jumping off the roof of a building. Anyone familiar with her career knows about her death - but I suggest to you that it is a big mistake to try to interpret her art in the context of a premature death, or a death wish. If anything, Woodman may have departed this earth because she had had some certain things to say - and having said them, she saw no more reason to continue. (I am personally aware of a suicide that, when I understood it, seemed motivated in the same way.) Her works concern the place and role of the human body located in buildings; the objectification and sexuality of women; devils and angels. For a while I was drunk on her stuff, only gradually recovering. Hats off to the Rhode Island School of Design, which was her Planet Earth for much of her career.
On Being An Angel is stellar.
On Being An Angel is stellar.
November 21, 2020
Not much reading in this tbh it's more photographs, surprise surprise. Still interesting enough to read but doesn't really go in to any level of depth about the work of the artist. Some images difficult to make out as they are printed quite small. An extensive bibliography of works/exhibitions for someone gone so young. A pointer to how significant her work is and how much impact it has had on later generations.
March 31, 2020
Not my favorite collection of Woodman photographs, but the book is very nicely put together and the accompanying essays are wonderful and worth checking this out. Would function well as an introduction to her work.
March 14, 2021
The work of Francesca Woodman is altogether alluring and eerily haunting. I’m always fascinated by photographers who choose self portrait as the main vehicle to convey their message. She’s the kind of artist I’d like to sit down with and have a conversation.
January 21, 2021
Una edición preciosa y bien detallada. Con explicaciones de la obra realizadas por familiares y expertos. Si te gusta Woodman, o eres un amante de la fotografía, te lo recomiendo. Vale su precio.
April 25, 2022
I adore Francesca Woodman’s work with all my heart.
November 9, 2023
Very poetic writings about Woodman’s photographs in second half of the book. Brings a lot of magic to her images.
October 6, 2025
the edition is fine... but this is not the kind of photography I particularly like
October 26, 2025
spectacular
November 8, 2021
Woodman is a top favorite of mine and the selection of photos here is wonderful, with perfect, crisp picture quality and great, thick paper, but boy, do I wish some of these images were printed larger. The amount of white space in these pages is a quite curious decision. I can see some of these photos in larger size on Google Images. Otherwise, this has near perfect presentation. It's also a very nicely put together exterior that feels good to hold.
Unfortunately the biggest detractor here for me is the pre-photo analytical essay by one Swedish author Anna-Karin Palm. It's not just that her essay is overwritten like someone trying to reach a character count for an assignment, but also, on principle, I don't see a need for analytical content/reviews of photography work presented next to the content itself, either before or after, unless it's written by the artist themselves. This is a book of Francesca Woodman's photography and the photos should speak for themselves. A contextual life and career biography is fine as a forward, but analysis and reviews of content should be kept separate from the content.
The elementary-school-pizza-party-slice sized written piece from George Woodman (Francesca's father) that closes the book is also kind of redundant to the two introductory passages and doesn't really add anything. I had hoped that a text by the deceased artist's father would have more to say about her, but hmm, okay, I guess.
4 stars for Francesca's wonderful photographs, minus 1 star for the questionable presentation.
Unfortunately the biggest detractor here for me is the pre-photo analytical essay by one Swedish author Anna-Karin Palm. It's not just that her essay is overwritten like someone trying to reach a character count for an assignment, but also, on principle, I don't see a need for analytical content/reviews of photography work presented next to the content itself, either before or after, unless it's written by the artist themselves. This is a book of Francesca Woodman's photography and the photos should speak for themselves. A contextual life and career biography is fine as a forward, but analysis and reviews of content should be kept separate from the content.
The elementary-school-pizza-party-slice sized written piece from George Woodman (Francesca's father) that closes the book is also kind of redundant to the two introductory passages and doesn't really add anything. I had hoped that a text by the deceased artist's father would have more to say about her, but hmm, okay, I guess.
4 stars for Francesca's wonderful photographs, minus 1 star for the questionable presentation.
September 14, 2016
Collection of mostly B/W photos by female photographer. She liked to use her own bare body as a subject. Would call this experimental photography.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews