Feminist shares views on photography at SMC
By Nicole Zook
News Writer
Feminist and author Jane Gallop visited Saint Mary's College Tuesday to present a lecture on her new book, "Living With His Camera: The Unhappy Woman and the Empty Chair."
Gallop is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the author of over 65 works. Her various topics include Sade, sexuality, pedagogy, feminism, France and Freud.
With "Living With His Camera," she added photography to that list.
In the book, Gallop does close readings of books on photography while adding her own personal reflections.
"I don't really take photographs," Gallop said. "I'm not a photographer."
Dick Blau, her partner for over 20 years, is the photographer. Since 1968, he has been creating art from his family photography. Gallop said she and their two children, Max and Ruby, are used to this.
"It is not that unusual for Dick to pick up his camera when we are having an argument," she said. I don't mind his taking photographs during an argument; in fact, I rather like it."
One such argument led to the portrait of domestic life after which the book was named. In it, a forlorn Gallop is seated on a couch next to an empty chair — one that should have been holding Blau.
Gallop showed this and many other photos to a crowd of 45. She also read an excerpt from the new book, critiquing both the photographs and Susan Sontag's "On Photography."
She discussed how preparing to critique her partner and domestic life made her feel. Before writing, she read Sontag's book many times.
"I began to fantasize leaving him, but then what would become of the book I was writing?" Gallop said.
Gallop's lecture was sponsored by the Program in Women's Studies at Saint Mary's, in coordination with the Departments of English and Philosophy and Notre Dame's Department of English.
The visit was a very special one for Professor Astrid Henry, the coordinator of the Program in Women's Studies.
Henry was brought to tears several times during her introduction of Gallop, which she admitted was "unusually sentimental for an academic talk."
"It isn't often that I get to introduce someone who has had such a great impact on my life," Henry said.
She studied under Gallop at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
"Being Jane's student has been, without a doubt, the most important intellectual experience of my life," she said.
Others who attended the lecture also appreciated Gallop's works.
Sophomore Erin Carsele studied Gallop's views on feminism in her Women's Studies class this year.
"Her ideas are very powerful and thought-provoking. Her views on photography, her writing, and the way she presents those views is inspiring," Carsele said. "When I was seeing those pictures up on the screen, it made me see photography in a different way."
All News Stories for Wednesday, April 16, 2003
