Catherine Opie

Documentary photographer Catherine Opie gained early recognition in the 1990s for her provocative photographs of the LGBT community, including images of artists and inmates, many of whom were involved with the sadomasochist subculture of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Since then, she has turned her lens to California surfers, women living in domestic partnerships, clusters of ice houses in northern Minnesota, Los Angeles freeways, and, most recently, high school football players. Whether photographing people or their environment, she is interested above all in community and the way in which personal identity is influenced by one’s surroundings.