A conversation with Susan Meiselas and Deirdre English. Followed by a book signing. LIMITED 1st edition books may be purchased at www.fotovision.org and will also be available at the event

This event is cosponsored by fotovision.org and FiftyCrows for additional information www.fotovision.org

Susan Meiselas spent her summers photographing and interviewing women who performed striptease for small town carnivals in New England, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. As she followed the girl shows from town to town, she portrayed the dancers on stage and off, photographing their public performances as well as their private lives. She also taped interviews with the dancers, their boyfriends, the show managers, and paying customers. Meiselas’ frank description of the lives of these women brought a hidden world to public attention. Produced during the early years of the women’s movement Carnival Strippers reflects the struggle for identity and self-esteem that characterized a complex era of change.”.

Pandora’s Box is the name of a boutique S&M parlor in New York, a place where men (mostly but not exclusively) go to experience sexual pleasures of submission. These pictures were taken in the nineties.

Together they span a period of time in which the image of and opportunities for women in sex trades changed greatly. A book signing will follow with limited copies of the beautifully produced new edition of Susan Meiselas’ landmark book originally from 1976 which now includes additional photographs along with an audio CD with a collage of voices from its many participants and a 1977 interview with the photographer.

Susan will show images and talk about the history of documenting women in sex trades, the issue of the “male gaze”, the meaning of the work in market and non-market contexts,feminist takes on pornography and sexual freedom.