Jess T. Dugan

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Jess T. Dugan (born 1986) is an American portrait photographer and educator, living in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] They are currently the 2020–2021 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis.[2]

Their long-term projects, Every Breath We Drew[3] and To Survive On This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults (with Vanessa Fabbre),[4] have been published as books and toured the US as exhibitions, including at Minneapolis Institute of Art[5] and George Eastman Museum (where it is currently on show).[6] They received a Champion of Change Award from the White House in 2015[7] and the 2019 Infinity Award for Emerging Photographer from the International Center of Photography.[8] Their work is held in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.[9]

Early life and education[edit]

Dugan was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. They received a BFA in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (2007); a Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies from Harvard University (2010); and a MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago (2014).[10]

Photography career[edit]

Dugan's notable long-term bodies of work include Every Breath We Drew; To Survive on this Shore; and Pictures with My Mother.[11]

Of Every Breath We Drew, begun in 2011, Dugan has said "The people I was drawn to photograph embody a gentle kind of a masculinity, whether they are male or female, gay or straight."[12] "Dugan invites the viewer to reflect on her vision of the masculine identity" while the work "also questions the collective idea of gender and sexuality—specifically what it means to be a man."[3] It was published as a book in 2015 and has been exhibited in a number of locations in the US.

To Survive on this Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults, made between 2013 and 2018, contains portraits by Dugan and interviews with each person predominantly by Vanessa Fabbre, and some by Dugan.[13][14][15] The subjects are a group of more than 60 people over the age of 50 from various ethnicities, US states and socio-economic backgrounds.[16][17][18]

Dugan and Fabbre's goals for To Survive on this Shore include highlighting an overlooked and under-represented group of people—older transgender and gender nonconforming people—for younger trans people; showing trans people as "everyday people and how they're living their lives" rather than part of "a celebrity culture or a Hollywood representation"; and recording the history of trans activists.[19]

To Survive on this Shore was published as a book in 2018 and toured as an exhibition around the US.[13] The title is taken from the Ani DiFranco song "Talk to Me Now".[19]

They always make portraits while alone with the subject and using natural light.[17][20]

Dugan was the 2020–2021 Henry L. and Natalie E. Freund Teaching Fellow at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis.[21]

Among Dugan's long-term projects is Family Pictures (2012-), a series which includes photographs of their partner, daughter, mother and her partner.[22] A portion of the series was included in the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition Kinship (2022-2023) in Washington, D.C.[23][24]

Personal life[edit]

Dugan is queer and non-binary gender.[25] They came out as gay at age 13, began questioning their gender identity when they were 14 or 15, and now describe themselves as "loosely part of the transgender umbrella".[13][16] They have had chest reconstruction surgery.[11] As of 2019 Dugan was said to use she/her pronouns[13][26] but as of late 2020 they were said to use the singular pronoun they,[27] as used by their own website in early 2021.[10]

Their partner is Vanessa Fabbre, a social worker and assistant professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.[14][16]

Publications[edit]

Publications by Dugan[edit]

  • A Moment Collected: Photographs at the Harvard Art Museum. Self-published, 2011. ISBN 978-0984634613. Monograph.
  • Transcendence. Winchester, MA: Griffin Museum of Photography, 2012. With an introduction by Dawoud Bey and an interview with Anthony Scibilia.
  • Pretty Boys Looking at Me. 2013. Edition of 100 copies. Monograph.
  • Every Breath We Drew. 2012. With an essay by David Travis. Exhibition catalog.
  • Every Breath We Drew. Hillsborough, NC: Daylight, 2015. ISBN 9781942084044. With an essay by Amy Galpin and an interview with Dawoud Bey. Monograph.[28][29]
  • Look at me like you love me. London: Mack, 2022. ISBN 978-1-913620-54-7.[30]

Publications with Fabbre[edit]

  • To Survive on this Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults. Heidelberg, Germany: Kehrer, 2018; 2019. With Vanessa Fabbre. ISBN 978-3-86828-854-4. With an interview by Karen Irvine. Monograph.[13]

Films[edit]

  • Letter to my Father (2017) – video, 14 m 54 s[31]

Awards[edit]

Collections[edit]

Dugan's work is held in the following permanent collections:

Exhibitions[edit]

Solo exhibitions[edit]

Exhibitions with Fabbre[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Joynt, Chase (2017). "Jess T. Dugan". Aperture (229): 60–65.
  2. ^ "Jess T. Dugan named 2020-21 Freund Teaching Fellow". The Source. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  3. ^ a b Rosenberg, David (19 March 2015). "Using Photography to Explore What It Means to Be Masculine". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  4. ^ Naughton, Jake (20 August 2018). "A Visual Record of the Joys, Fears and Hopes of Older Transgender People (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ^ a b "A poignant exploration of the lives of transgender and gender non-conforming older people". Wallpaper*. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  6. ^ a b "Exploring the Complex Experiences of Older Trans, GNC People". Paper. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  7. ^ a b "St. Louis photographer to accept Champion of Change award Monday at the White House". St. Louis Public Radio. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  8. ^ "2019 Infinity Award: Emerging Photographer—Jess T. Dugan". International Center of Photography. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  9. ^ a b "Jess T. Dugan". www.mocp.org. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  10. ^ a b "About". Jess T. Dugan. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  11. ^ a b "Female in Focus: Jess T. Dugan's empowering portraits of the ageing transgender community". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  12. ^ "What does queer masculinity look like in 2015?". HuffPost UK. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Moving Photos of Trans People Over 50 Enjoying Life". www.vice.com. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  14. ^ a b Rosenberg, David (20 November 2015). "Gorgeous Portraits of Aging Members of the Trans Community". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  15. ^ Annear, Steve. "Photo project highlights lives of elderly transgender community - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  16. ^ a b c Holland, Oscar (22 August 2018). "Portraits depict 'struggles and joys' of older transgender people". CNN. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  17. ^ a b "To Survive on This Shore spotlights transgender and gender nonconforming older adults through portraiture and interviews". www.itsnicethat.com. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  18. ^ "Transgender: Endlich im richtigen Körper". www.zeit.de. 28 July 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  19. ^ a b "'I wanted to break stereotypes': the photographer capturing transgender life over 50". The Guardian. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  20. ^ "How Master Portraitist Jess T. Dugan Empowers Subjects to Open Up for Remarkably Intimate Photographs". Artnet. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  21. ^ "Faculty portfolios". samfoxschool.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  22. ^ Jansen, Charlotte (9 February 2021). "Jess T Dugan on Desire, Ageing and the Intersectional Gaze". Elephant. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  23. ^ Jenkins, Mark (15 December 2022). "Smithsonian's 'Kinship' ponders the meaning of personal connection". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Portraiture Now: Kinship". NPG. Smithsonian Institution. 17 October 2022. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  25. ^ "Statements". Jess T. Dugan. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  26. ^ "Female in Focus: Jess T. Dugan's empowering portraits of the ageing transgender community". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  27. ^ a b "These Exhibit Portraits Honor the Visibility of Transgender Adults". Next Avenue. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  28. ^ Moore, Lane (24 September 2015). "These 12 Stunning Photos Will Change Everything You Think You Know About Masculinity". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  29. ^ a b Karlan, Sarah (25 September 2015). "See Masculinity Reimagined In These Stunning Portraits". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  30. ^ "Jess T Dugan's New Photo Book Is a Tender Ode to Queer Love". AnOther. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  31. ^ "Video". Jess T. Dugan. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  32. ^ "2018 Women Photograph Grant winners announced". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  33. ^ Clark, Samantha (9 July 2018). "Women Photograph Announces 2018 Grant Recipients". NPR. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  34. ^ "ICP announces Infinity Awards winners". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  35. ^ "Jess T. Dugan". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  36. ^ "CollectiveAccess error". Light Work. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  37. ^ "Collection Spotlight: To Survive on This Shore by Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre". Stories From The Block. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  38. ^ "Every Breath We Drew". Wall Street International. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  39. ^ "Jess Dugan: Every Breath We Drew January 14–March 16, 2019". Montserrat College of Art. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  40. ^ "Every Breath We Drew Art Exhibit". Truman State University. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  41. ^ "Satellite Exhibition: Center on Halsted". www.mocp.org. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  42. ^ "To Survive on this Shore". library.duke.edu. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  43. ^ "To Survive on This Shore". Southwest Contemporary. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  44. ^ "To Survive on This Shore – UNM Art Museum". University of New Mexico Art Museum. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  45. ^ "To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults". Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  46. ^ "Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre: To Survive on This Shore". frost.fiu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  47. ^ "To Survive on This Shore". Provincetown Art Association and Museum. 14 February 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-10.

External links[edit]

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