Willie Anne Wright: Artist and Alchemist at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
© Colonial Beach - Municipal Pier, 1981, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), silver dye bleach print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2022.290
Written by Cate Engles
Photo edited by Max Amos-Flom
Over 70 pieces of artwork commemorating Willie Anne Wright’s 60-year artistic journey are currently being shown at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). The retrospective of the photography pioneer will be on view for the public until April 28, 2024. Wright’s work is centered around the evolution of femininity in day-to-day life as well as in pop culture. This exhibition is the first time Wright will be recognized for her contributions to the history of photography. Her artwork has been featured before, but never in a complete retrospective spanning her entire career.
© Branch with Brugs, 2013, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2014.238
Through Wright's use of the pinhole method, the viewer feels like they are looking into a peep-hole and glimpsing into her memories. This technique – which Wright is known for utilizing in much of her work– is the simplest form of photography. It only requires a light proof box with one small aperture that permits the image to be projected onto film. Visitors to Wright’s exhibit are able to peek into the past and become a character in history themselves. She allows the viewers to absorb her photographs like a memory. They are fuzzy around the edges—only spotlighting the most memorable part whether that is a person or a location.
© Willie at Ruth's Farm, 1984, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), silver dye bleach print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2022.329
Wright’s photographic subjects range from Civil War reenactors to her friends to even herself. Her most recurring subject that she explores is the female body. In the array of photographs, her viewers witness the evolution of the modern woman. Since her archive spans over six decades of images, the viewer is able to see how the presentation of these female subjects changes overtime. Wright highlights the often overlooked duality of femininity in her photographs. Her focus is on the musculature of these women which exhumes the hidden strength of the female body before the viewer.
© Anne S at Jack B's Pool (Back), 1984, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), silver dye bleach print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2022.302
Whereas some of Wright’s images concentrate on this innate strength of her women subjects, there are also several that show the delicacy that is associated with stereotypical femininity. The varying curves of a woman’s body can be studied by the viewer because Wright presents her female subjects from several different perspectives. She continues to exhibit this underlying theme of gentleness by layering her photographs. She places semi-transparent prints over her fully-developed photographs. For instance, the figure of dainty night dress lays on top of an image of a young girl, reminding the viewer of the innocence associated with adolescence.
© Gracie with Dress, 2005, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), gelatin silver print. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2022.436
The exhibit also features some of Wright’s paintings that use popular icons from the media as their subjects. Her Green Supremes painting is an experimentation in Pop Art. Even in her paintings, Wright pays close attention to the curves and outlines of her subjects all whilst playing with color to indicate shadows or special features.
© Green Supremes, 1969, Willie Anne Wright (American, born 1924), acrylic on canvas. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment, 2022.246
Wright does not stay within one medium nor style throughout her lifetime as an artist. The exhibit showcases her photographs, paintings, and combinations of both. The way in which she chooses to construct her artwork is metaphoric to her multifaceted subjects. Like the versatility of these people, so are her masterpieces.
