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| Caffery, Debbie Fleming, Leo Fishing, 2011. |
Debbie Fleming Caffery is a contemporary photographer for the FCDA: Facing Change Documenting America organization. This is a group of photographers and writers who are dedicated to exploring the United States and documenting the hardships Americans fine Based out of Louisiana. She is often labeled a fine art and as a documentary photographer. Born in 1948, Caffery's experience growing up in Louisiana had a strong effect on Caffery in terms of her photography career. Her photographs typically are focused on the small town culture found within her home state as well as around the Mississippi Delta.
Caffery argues that at one point, these small Southern towns breathed a strong sense of culture all on its own although in recent years, this culture has been dying out. In a video series titled Facing Change: Documenting America, that was released in 2011, Caffery discusses her thoughts behind this unique culture that is slowly fading away:
"I am documenting, through portraits and landscapes, the North
Louisiana communities along the Mississippi River and the Mississippi
Delta that are dying due to numerous factors most notably the growth of
interstate commerce and the modernization of farming. The closing of
schools and hospitals in the small communities have added many
challenges for the remaining residents, primarily African-Americans. I
am interested in how they endure the many hardships of racism and
poverty. I am focusing on their struggles and their resilience in the
face of cultural, economic, and geographical change" (Caffery, web).
Certainly a passionate, talented and dedicated photographer, she has also won a number of awards: Lou Stouman Award (1996), the Governor of Louisiana's Award for Excellence in the Arts and a Katrina Media Fellowship, George Soros Foundation in 2006. Her photographs can be found in multiple collections such as those found at the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Bibliotecque Nationale. For more information on this series by Caffery, please click "here".
Certainly a passionate, talented and dedicated photographer, she has also won a number of awards: Lou Stouman Award (1996), the Governor of Louisiana's Award for Excellence in the Arts and a Katrina Media Fellowship, George Soros Foundation in 2006. Her photographs can be found in multiple collections such as those found at the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute, and the Bibliotecque Nationale. For more information on this series by Caffery, please click "here".
01. ASX.TV: – Debbie Fleming Caffery – “Facing Change: Documenting America” (2011)." Since 2008 AMERICAN SUBURB X Art Photography and Culture That Matters. Ed. Trevor Bayack. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
02. "Facing Change: Documenting America - Debbie Fleming Claffery." The Leica Camera Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
03. "Debbie Fleming Caffery." Maine Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
04. Pierce, Steve. "Facing Change: Documenting America Photo by Debbie Fleming Caffery." Facing Change: Documenting America Photo by Debbie Fleming Caffery. N.p., 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.