Marianna Rothen

I was recently scrolling through instagram and discovered Marianna Rothen, a feminist photographer who lives in New York. She was originally born in Canada but moved to New York to become a model. She actually became a pretty successful model but decided that she'd rather be behind the camera rather than in front of it.

While she was traveling a lot during her model days she used to always being a camera along as a creative outlet. And even though she has zero to no photo related-education you can hardly tell. She has such a beautiful eye for composition, angles, lighting, models, and just her overall vintage style. She learned most of her skills just by watching photographers taking pictures during her shoots when she was on set. She admired particular photographers that she met during her career and mimicked their same appreciation towards women. 

Most of her inspiration came from women in films during the 50's, 60's and 70's. Her main focus was on the emotional state of women and to capture the life of that woman in that very moment. Recently she finished a series called, "Fever to Her Plague" which is about gender roles and the expectations that society throws on women. I find her photography reminds me of Cindy Sherman in the sense that they both wanted to voice their opinions on gender roles amongst women. They both depict woman as both strong, confident, stunning beings. 

In a lot of Rothen's works she likes using props with her models because it gives the characters more life and meaning which adds to her vision of what society thinks woman are good for and what they are actually good for. Some of the props she is most drawn to are books, diaries, knives, arms, tears, mirrors, and windows. They read as tips to helping the viewers see what she sees in women.

Her work completely inspires me not just as an artist but also as a woman because even though women are given more rights in today's society there are still so much underlining expectations on gender roles. I love seeing these stunning women that she captures and brings to life.