Morgan Hicks

Naked in Nature: Anne Brigman a Photography Goddess

Anne Brigman was a fiercely independent woman filled with intense creativity. She was unique among her peers for many reasons but primarily for her interest in combining nude female figures with landscape settings. During the early 20th century nude photographs of women were typically taken by men and up until this time most representations of the female nude in art were accredited to male artists. Nearly 60 years later in 1971 Linda Nochlin wrote her essay “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?”. Nochlin expresses that in the history of art making women artists were denied access to the same academic experience as male artists. A woman’s place in art history was to remain as the subject not as the artist. Feminist artists of the 1970’s reflected on this and began a deliberate process of undoing the patriarchal values that helped shape art history. It is not a stretch to consider Brigman’s photographic outings in the mountains as a precursor to a lot of feminist art that emerged in the 60’s and 70’s. Brigman broke the rules of propriety years before Nochlin revealed the gender disparity in the art world. Like feminist artists of the 70’s Brigman looked to nature and her body for inspiration, a source of strength, and personal liberation. Her photographs of female nudes in different landscapes are intensely personal and act as an expression of her inner feelings.