Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry by Penny Wolin (Archive)

Penny Wolin is raising funds for her photography project through Kickstarter. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by 5/2/12: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1...
From Penny: DESCENDANTS OF LIGHT: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry is the result of my six year odyssey traveling across America, to photograph, interview and gather ancestral memoirs from over 70 of the most influential Jewish photographers of our time.
THE KICKSTARTER GOAL - This phase of Kickstarter funding will allow me to devote the mandatory full and uninterrupted time to finalize the content of all of the visual and written material. It will place the project in position to prepare for the next phase of publication and exhibition.
In no other visual art form except cinema has there been such a staggering number of influential figures of Jewish ancestry as in photography. For over 100 years, in reportage, portraiture, fashion and street photography, Jews have excelled in the medium.
In 2006, I began multiple trips throughout the United States to photograph and interview photographers of Jewish ancestry, while questioning whether their identity as Jews did, or did not, matter to their photographic work. As with my previous documentaries, especially The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora, (as exhibited solo at the Smithsonian Institution,) my fascination with Jewish culture continues, and is brought forth by bearing photographic witness to this golden age of American Jewish civilization.
To Date I have created over 70 interviews and portrait sessions with:
Peter Aaron, Sid Avery, Lillian Bassman, Stephen Berkman, Nina Berman, Gay Block, Gary Brod, David Burnett, Cornell Capa, Jo Ann Callis, Elinor Carucci, Jake Coleman, Judy Dater, Bruce Davidson, Jill Enfield, Jason Eskenazi, Larry Fink, Abe Frajndlich, Robert Frank, Jill Freedman, Anthony Freidkin, Noah Greenberg, Lauren Greenfield, Lori Grinker, Philippe Halsman, Marc Hauser, Gregory Heisler, Ryszard Horowitz, Yale Joel, Ed Kashi, Sid Kaplan, Claudia Kunin, Gillian Laub, Annie Leibovitz, Herman Leonard, Helen Levitt, Ken Light, John Loengard, Jay Maisel, Norman Mauskopf, Joel Meyerowitz, Nickolas Muray, Arnold Newman, Ira Nowinski, Walter Rosenblum, Eva Rubinstein, Laurence Salzmann, Steve Schapiro, Joe Schwartz, Ron Seymour, Maurice Seymour, David Strick, Arthur Tress, Toba Tucker, Roman Vishniac, Al Wertheimer, Joel-Peter Witkin, Garry Winogrand, Jeffrey A. Wolin, Penny Wolin, Lloyd Ziff
By working with these great photographers - the witnesses of our time- my results reflect a surprising account of their motivations and methods to photograph, as well fascinating discussions of photographic artistry itself. Additionally, the work shows an extraordinary view of how Jewish culture currently survives and thrives within American culture.
I am uniquely qualified to execute this documentary. I am a photographer of Jewish ancestry. This positions me to be a window and a mirror into Jewish culture, as well as understanding the nature of the photographic process itself.
Tumblers In The Tumult - The time period of the history of photography closely parallels that of the arrival of large numbers of Jews to America. This fortuitous intersection provides a rich opportunity to explore a multi-generational verbal and visual accounting of American Jewish history. I now see deeper meaning to familial resemblance: If we look like our ancestors, might we not behave like them, too? Might we not carry forward their survival methods into our own time period? Might the alchemical form of a photograph be in fact, a reliable but overlooked source of information about our own identity?
Move It Forward - Though I have had generous angels along the way (you know who you are), I have primarily self-funded this documentary with other photographic work. I am well over half-finished with the editing of hundreds of hours of audio recordings and the printing of nearly 200 photographs. But, there are still more transcriptions to edit, more photographs to print and more of the photographers' words to perfect. There are a few elusive photographers that remain to be interviewed. The work has revealed more depth, more complexity and more wonderful material than I ever imagined. I need financial help to finish.
DESCENDANTS OF LIGHT: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry, will showcase the photographs made by the photographers. By photographing wars, famines, political movements, celebrities and the street of America, these photographers have been the touch point, the witnesses to the icons and iconic events of our time. Surprisingly, though their images are famous, their authorship often remains unknown. Through extensive biographies, DESCENDANTS OF LIGHT will make known the creators of these photographs.
www.pennywolin.com