Molly Matalon is an American artist.
Episode 101: I received Molly Matalon‘s exemplary book When a Man Loves a Woman published by Palm*Studios, a publishing house run by artist Lola Poprocka and was really stirred by it.
I get the chance quite often to decide whether or not I want to review a title or take a moment to speak with the artist etc. on Nearest Truth. With Molly, I felt it somehow pressing to have a conversation.
When a Man Loves a Woman is among many other things, a book about photographic colour, about bodies and about coming to term’s with self. After speaking with Molly, and more towards the end of the conversation we spoke about how making work for Molly as for many people is about finding a way to examine the self, the way in which we look, observe or dedicate ourselves to making a photograph.
For many artists, making images is a direct communication of their interior world and thinking. Each image is a reflection or an act of reflexive occupation of frame. When you see a male body in Molly’s photographs, it has an identity and a story, but it is also a conversation about Molly and the way she sees herself and the world. It is about the production of bodies, their visibility and the challenge of the assumed authorship of images.
The book is beautifully produced by Molly, Lola and Palm*Studios. Molly and the book itself are at the heart of the young and vibrant world of contemporary photography. In the conversation, we speak about Moll’s images, her subjects, but also the rough times that 2020 has produced for all of us trying to tread water.
