A tribute to: Lauren E. Simonutti (1968-2012)

Lauren E. Simonutti, 1968, USA, passed away last week due to complications from her illness. On March 28th, 2006 she started hearing voices and was diagnosed with "rapid cycling, mixed state bipolar with schizoaffective disorder". She felt she was going mad and spent her last years almost in isolation. She turned the camera on herself and the space she was living in. She has left us with an impressive, honest and strong body of work. With her photographs she gave a voice to those that suffer in isolation.
"Over (five) years I have spent alone amidst these 8 rooms, 7 mirrors, 6 clocks, 2 minds and 199 panes of glass. And this is what I saw here. This is what I learned. I figure it could go one of two ways - I will either capture my ascension from madness to as much a level of sanity for which one of my composition could hope, or I will leave a document of it all, in the case that I should lose." - Lauren E. Simonutti
The following images come from the series The Devil's Alphabet and 8 Rooms, 7 Mirrors, 6 Clocks, 2 Minds & 199 Panes of Glass.

Website: www.edelmangallery.com & www.lauren-rabbit.blogspot.com

Photographer #383: Lauren Greenfield

Lauren Greenfield, 1966, USA, is a documentary photographer and film-maker. She is widely known for her work involving youth culture. She released three monographs, all dealing with the subject matter of youth, entitled Fast Forward (1997), Girl Culture (2002) and Thin (2006). Thin is an in-depth documentation about the treatment of eating disorders. She photographed the lives of nineteen patients at the Renfrew Center in Florida. Adjacent to the images she also followed the patients with a film camera. The project shows the complicated and difficult process of treatment, rehabilitation and the experience of struggling with an eating disorder. Girl Culture is about girl's and their relationship to their bodies, their inner lives, emotional development and the material world with it's popular culture. Fast Forward shows the ways children in Los Angeles are influenced by the values of Hollywood. It deals with the quest for "fame" and the preoccupation with trends and materialism. Lauren has a vast archive of editorial stories and advertising campaigns, all produced in a recognizable and colorful style that has created her signature in photography. The following images come from the series Thin, Girl Culture and Fast Forward.

Website: www.laurengreenfield.com

Photographer #311: Lauren Dukoff

Lauren Dukoff, 1984, USA, is a portrait photographer. A vast amount of celebrities have been in front of her lens including Beyonce, Katy Perry, Sting and Beck. Her most known picture might be the cover of the album 21 by Adele. Lauren has also directed videos for Adele, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan and Devendra Banhart. For several years Lauren had been photographing close friends and Devendra Banhart, including an extended family of artists who share inspiration. The images were released in the book Family in 2009. It includes portraits and candid images of Devendra and many other artists, individually or together, in performance or in more private spaces. Her images have been published in numerous magazines as Rolling Stone, Dazed & Confused and L'Uomo Vogue. The following images come from her portfolios and her diary.

Website: www.laurendukoff.com