I photograph contemporary American family histories through the daily lives of my own family, playing on the inherent voyeuristic nature of human society. By exposing our private, unsightly, and painful moments to the viewer, I offer entrance to one’s own family life via the conduit of my loved ones. The American obsession with the notion of an ideal family leads to a fascination with the necessary and painful dysfunctions which make that ideal unattainable. Set against the backdrop of my Ohio home, this life-long series spanning nearly a decade follows my family through every move and change.
Each wrinkle, each heavy sigh, each confident stare into the lens contained in these images is suggestive of the undercurrent of an American family moving through joys and tragedies. These are not perfect images, nor perfect moments. They are the in-between, the almost there, the awkward, the joyful. These are the moments not discussed but not uncommon. They show the connections we share while fulfilling our need to know and be known, to see and be seen.
Mom with Merit Ultra Lights and beer, 2003
Sarah and Cam at the YMCA, Toledo, Ohio, 2003
Four generations waiting, Mercy Hospital Mt. Airy, Cincinnati, 2004
The first time I met my brother’s son, 2009
After Dad moved out, he still came to visit and help out around the house, 2008
Mom moved to 407 Shasta Lane, Santa Barbara, California, 2010
At my brother’s in-laws’, Rolling Spring Estates, Cincinnati, 2010
My uncle’s Buick he loaned me, with trash from Grandma’s room, 2010
Teach me to shoot, 2011
Argument over the divorce, 2011
Mom taking a break from lunch at my brother’s, 2011
When they painted, they put all Grandma’s pictures back just as they were, 2011
