Diaries of Home at the Modern

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth presents Diaries of Home, an exhibition of works by twelve women and nonbinary artists who explore the multilayered concepts of family, community, and home.

The artists in this exhibition challenge documentary photography by pushing it into conceptual, performative, and theatrical realms. They probe preconceptions about domestic, familial, and communal spaces in the United States, which are often considered feminine spheres. Such environments and their relationship to feminism and feminist art have a history dating back to the 1970s—especially in photography, where women artists have been among the strongest voices. The photographers presented in Diaries of Home show us the dynamics of both biological and constructed families; for example, Sally Mann takes up her three children as subject matter in lush portraits that are intimate and compelling, while Nan Goldin portrays her lover and group of friends as a kind of chosen family. Each artist offers visual narratives ranging from the very personal to broader examinations of society in works that depict tales of love, desire, loss, home, and the intricacies of human relationships.

Debbie Grossman
Doris Caudill, 2009-10
Pigment print
10 1/2 × 14 inches
Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase, The Friends of Art Endowment Fund
© Debbie Grossman

The artists in Diaries of Home use the vernacular of documentary photography, which creates an immediate sense of familiarity and understanding. Yet, the works subvert the implied truthfulness of the imagery by exploring the medium’s inherent subjectivity through enticing fiction and drama, or by magnifying everyday affairs. The affection, kinship, hardship, and deeply intimate narratives captured lend a diaristic quality to the photographs, creating a conceptual focal point that inspired the exhibition’s title.

Sally Mann
The New Mothers, 1989
Gelatin silver print
20 x 24 inches
Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase made possible by a grant from The Burnett Foundation
© Sally Mann

Diaries of Home features a diverse, multi-generational group of artists with a variety of photographic processes, ranging from printed images to slides and video. Patty Chang, Jess T. Dugan, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Nan Goldin, Debbie Grossman, Letitia Huckaby, Deana Lawson, Laura Letinsky, Sally Mann, Arlene Mejorado, Laurie Simmons, and Carrie Mae Weems use themselves and others as center points to explore various social relations in and outside of the home. The resulting imagery that gives shape to Diaries of Home captures the psychological interiority, the complex family dynamics, and the inconsequential and profound moments of daily routine—all aspects that compose a life’s journey.

The exhibition is co-curated by Chief Curator Andrea Karnes and Assistant Curator Clare Milliken. The exhibition will be on view from November 17, 2024 to February 2, 2025.

Debbie Grossman
Jessie Evans-Whinery, Homesteader, with Her wife Edith Evans-Whinery and Their baby, 2009-10
Pigment print
10 1/2 × 14 inches
Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase, The Friends of Art Endowment Fund
© Debbie Grossman