Rebecca Freimuth

Artist's Statement: 

My name is Rebecca Freimuth. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I  make pictures of people, architecture, and other things. 

By the way, I am also visually impaired.

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Yes.  I am legally blind, yet I do not view my visual impairment as a hindrance – it does not define me. It allows me to see, experience, and uniquely capture the world. I notice the nuances most overlook.  Shapes, colors, textures, light and dark, take on a whole new meaning.  

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I am intrigued by the old-world architecture Cincinnati offers - those dumpy buildings functioning as the forgotten backdrop of our daily lives. I see a calm, quiet beauty- a stillness - within the (sometimes) crumbling bricks. I imagine a family of German immigrants in their new home. I think about the African-American family pushed out by gentrification.  I wonder about the homeless who call those buildings home. 

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The French street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004) is my greatest inspiration. His work continues to teach me to appreciate symmetry and clean lines. To view each person as a beautiful creation with many stories to tell.  To seek out and enjoy the quiet loveliness of simple objects – a lamppost, a flower growing from the crack in an abandoned building, the ice cream stand on a summer day. 

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Interesting people doing interesting things speak to me—however, interesting people doing absolutely nothing interesting fascinate me. People communicate thoughts and emotions without a single word.  Race, gender, and social class do not exist through my camera lens, and each of us is living works of art. 

I make pictures because I want you to see.  People. Places. Pretty things and not-so-pretty things. The reality of our culture and society.  I want you to pause for just a moment and take in the world around you. 

 

Peace, love, and light, 

Rebecca