CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 1/12/2022

Romance and magic, decadence and ruins in 'Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories'

"A waltz in three parts," Providence, Rhode Island, (1975–1978) is reproduced from Francesca Woodman: Alternate Stories, the new release from Marian Goodman Gallery containing both classic and previously unseen photographs and archival materials by the remarkable and ever-more influential American photographer who took her own life in 1981—at just twenty-two years of age. Chris Kraus writes: "Francesca Woodman’s work was the result of a headlong romance with the magical properties of analog photography: a magic created, as most magic is, through a series of very deliberate steps and constant study." Kraus cites Giuseppe Casetti, co-owner of Maldoror, the anarchist bookstore where Woodman hung out when living and studying in Rome: "She was never distracted; every moment of Francesca’s life was in preparation for a photograph. She was always thinking about her work… She was like a machine: she could be inspired by anything she looked at, or she could figure out how to make it useful from a creative point of view… She didn’t love ordinary things, but she loved decadence, the ruined object, vestiges of the past."

IMAGE CREDIT: Francesca Woodman. A waltz in three parts, Providence, Rhode Island, 1975-1978. Vintage gelatin silver print. © Woodman Family Foundation / ARS, New York