Blake Fitch, Boston, USA
Blake Fitch was born in Rochester, NY. Fitch received her BFA on full scholarship from Pratt Institute, with a major in photography and minor in photo history. After graduating she studied photography and art and technology at the Art Institute of Chicago before earning her masters degree in Arts Administration from Boston University. She works as a fine art and editorial photography out of Boston, MA.
Fitch has photographed extensively in the United States and Central and South America. Her work has focused on themes of: identity, adolescence, civil rights, and belonging.
The quality and breadth of her imagery has enabled her to receive a variety of grants and sponsorships including support from Kodak and Calumet Photographic. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is held in the collections of several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The George Eastman House of Photography and the Worcester Art Museum. She is represented by ClampArt in New York and Catherine Couturier Gallery in Houston, TX.
Additionally, Mrs. Fitch served as the Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA from 2002-2007, making the museum a preeminent resource devoted to the exhibition of photography. She continues to curate independently and teaches photography at the New England School of Photography and Anderson Ranch Arts Center.
The Expectations of Adolescence
Adolescence is a time for identity play, a time to try on various masks in the journey toward self-discovery and adulthood. Through our imaginations we perceive endless possibilities, but slowly awaken to the realities of resistance. For some, racial and gender barriers may become more evident, and dreams begin to give way to doubts.
Adolescence is often a period of insecurity and alienation. For girls in particular, identities are formed around the opinions of others. As a result, their behaviors are dictated by external perceptions rather than internal desires.
In addition to home and academic pressures, societal pressures can heighten anxiety to never-before experienced levels. Goals become compromised and achievements seem less accessible.
In this project, over a span of nine years, I have explored the physical and emotional changes that accompany this phase of a girl’s life in America. My focus has been on my youngest sister and cousin. I hope to have captured the simple moments in her search for her own identity as it becomes publicly displayed—at a dance recital or simply by the way she looks at herself in the mirror—and then subsequently informs the various traits that are either incorporated or discarded on the way to becoming an adult. It is these moments where we quietly witness the delicate transition from girlhood to womanhood.
Collections
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The George Eastman House of Photography
The Worcester Art Museum.
