Meadow Muska American, born 1952 Tradeswomen: Get Serious!, 1976 Pigment inkjet print courtesy of the Artist L2019.197.22 © Meadow Muska

Strong Women, Full of Love: The Photography of Meadow Muska

Strong Women, Full of Love: The Photography of Meadow Muska

August 17, 2019 - December 15, 2019
Perlman Gallery (Gallery 368)
Free Exhibition

This exhibition is the first to present the work of documentary photographer Carolyn “Meadow” Muska. Born and raised in Minnesota, Meadow came out as a lesbian at age 20. After earning a BFA at Ohio University, she used photography to record “beautiful, strong women, full of love and joy.” In an era of persistent legal and cultural prejudice against LGBTQ individuals, documenting her community was a radical act. Because her photographs could have exposed her subjects to significant risks, including the loss of employment, child custody, or housing, she developed her own film in a basement darkroom for decades. The extraordinary photographic record she produced as a part of the “women’s land” movement in both Minnesota and Oregon, as well as her work as a labor and women’s rights activist, illuminates a new and vital chapter in American history.

Meadow Muska American, born 1952 Tradeswomen: Get Serious!, 1976 Pigment inkjet print courtesy of the Artist L2019.197.22 © Meadow Muska