Gillian Laub

About Episode 11

In this episode of PhotoWork, Sasha and photographer / filmmaker, Gillian Laub, talk about the patience needed to let a certain type of project take shape. Gillian discusses her HBO Documentary, Southern Rites, and explains why still photography alone was not enough to tell that story, and she reveals the importance of trusting her editor in the book making process and making hard cuts to beloved images. This is an incredibly warm and cozy talk between two old friends who share lots of thoughts and feelings with one another and, of course, the listeners.

Gillian Laub (b.1975, Chappaqua, New York) is a photographer and filmmaker based in New York. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in comparative literature before studying photography at the International Center of Photography, where her love of visual storytelling and family narratives began.

Laub spent over a decade working in Georgia exploring issues of lingering racism in the American South. This work became Laub’s first feature length, directed and produced, documentary film, Southern Rites that premiered on HBO. Her monograph, Southern Rites (Damiani, 2015) and travelling exhibition by the same title came out in conjunction with the film and are being used for an educational outreach campaign, in schools and institutions across the country. Southern Rites was named one of the best photo books by TIME, Smithsonian, Vogue, LensCulture, and American Photo. It was also nominated for a Lucie award and Humanitas award.

Laub recently recieved the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was honored as a NYSCA/NYFA Photography Fellow in 2019.

Laub has been interviewed on NPR, CNN, MSNBC, Good Morning America, Times Talks and numerous others. Laub contributes to many publications including TIME , The New York Times Magazine and Vanity Fair. Laub’s work has been widely collected and exhibited, and is included in the collects of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge MA; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Terrana Collection, Boston; Jewish Museum. New York; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC (now American University Museum Collection in Washington, DC), and a wide range of corporate and private collections.

Artist Links:

Website

Instagram