By Gray Chapman
Award-winning photographer Joyce Tenneson visited SCAD-Atlanta this past week to give a lecture to students, faculty and staff. Tenneson, who has been described as “one of America’s most interesting portrayers of the human character,” is known for her portraiture work, particularly of nude and semi-nude women. In her lecture, she gave a presentation of her work, as well as a “behind the scenes” look at her life, and gave advice to SCAD students pursuing a career in photography or fine art.
Voted one of the ten most influential women in the history of photography by American Photo Magazine readers, Tenneson has shown her work in over 150 exhibitions worldwide and was also named “Photographer of the Year” by the Women in Photography organization. Her work has appeared on the covers of notable publications like Time, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, Premiere, Esquire and The New York Times Magazine.
Vice President P.J. Johnson gave the opening remarks to her lecture, describing Tenneson as “one of the leading photographers of her generation.” Vice President Johnson spoke of Tenneson’s longstanding relationship with SCAD, including her employment of many SCAD alumni.
According to Johnson, SCAD alumnus Michael Goesele assisted Tenneson in the production and design of her bestselling book, “Wise Women,” featured in a six-part series on the Today Show. “When Michael returned from his New York internship with Joyce, he stopped by President Wallace’s office to regale us for an afternoon with wonderful stories of his life-changing experience and time with Joyce,” said Johnson. Additionally, Tenneson has provided over 50 SCAD students with internships in her New York and Maine studios.
Tenneson began the lecture with a short movie documenting the span of her work in photography, beginning with her earliest work in self-portraits over 40 years ago. “A lot of SCAD students do self-portraits – I know, because I’ve had so many interns over the years,” said Tenneson. “It’s partially trying to find your own place, your own identity, and probing your psyche to find out who you really are.”
According to Tenneson, her fine art work was nearly always done simultaneously while photographing assignment work. “I always found that, by being able to do assignment work, I could give myself a ‘grant’ to do my fine art work,” said Tenneson. “As a young artist, it’s very difficult to graduate and be able to sell your work right away. While you’re building up your reputation as a fine art photographer, you can work in the field.”
Tenneson also spoke about her “extracurricular” activities, from building her dream studio in Maine to her annual book classes that she holds. “I like to empower people to feel that they can do their own books,” said Tenneson. “I think it’s the best calling card to have when you leave school, to have a book or two.” Tenneson herself has published over 13 books. She also holds women’s retreats in her studio, teaches abroad in Tuscany, photographs for pro-bono campaigns, goes on press tours for each of her books, and travels extensively.
In the lecture, Tenneson spoke about the importance of incorporating business and marketing into the artist’s curriculum. “I think the thing that really separates successful artists from those who struggle is their ability to market themselves,” said Tenneson. “A lot of artists cringe at that word, but I can honestly say that every successful artist that I’ve ever known is good at marketing.” She described her experiences marketing her books without a public relations agent, booking segments on “The Today Show” and “Oprah,” and sending her materials for coverage in O Magazine and Elle. “A few of the P.R. agencies came to me wanting to know who I had hired, and one of them offered to hire me.”
Tenneson ended the lecture by speaking of the importance of empowering yourself to market your work, but also to use your work for the betterment of society. She spoke of the pro-bono campaign she did for multiple sclerosis awareness, in which she attempted to debunk the general perception that MS sufferers are wheelchair-bound. “Photography is a powerful medium for marketing, but also to raise social consciousness. That’s why I’m so impassioned about it.”
To learn more about Joyce Tenneson, view her work, or order her books online, visit her Web site at www.joycetenneson.com.