HIGHWAY 61
The Photography Of Jessica Lange
Actress Jessica Lange has a long list of accolades, that include her roles in King Kong, Frances, Tootsie, Grey Gardens and American Horror Story. Her work in film, TV and theater has earned her praise and awards for her craft. But, before she was an Oscar winner, before she was a star, Jessica Lange was a photography student. Raised in Cloquet, Minnesota, she studied the arts at the University of Minnesota. Today, she celebrates her third published collection of photographs, Highway 61, with an upcoming exhibit to parallel her book.
Highway 61 originates in the city of Wyoming, Minnesota and runs 1400 miles along the Mississippi River. It winds through eight states, all the way down to New Orleans. The upcoming exhibit showcases Lange’s images along this iconic road. It’s a tribute to the storied route she often traveled during her childhood in northern Minnesota. “These photographs are a chronicle of what remains and what has disappeared. It has a long memory,” said Lange in a statement.
Over the last seven years, Lange repeatedly traveled this historic road to capture images of everyday people, landscapes and life along the highway. Lange observed that, “Long stretches of 61 are empty, forlorn, as if in mourning for what has gone missing — the hometowns, the neighborhoods, family farms, factories and mills.”
Howard Greenberg presents Lange’s Highway 61 exhibit from November 21 to January 18, at his eponymous NYC gallery. He told The New York Times, “It’s expressive, emotional street photography. It’s not a tourist view. She gets close to her subjects.” A street photographer relies on invisibility with an ability to document a moment without getting in the way of that moment. Despite her fame, Lange managed to infiltrate Highway 61 as the storyteller and not the story. She dedicates Highway 61 to her partner of 26 years, the late playwright and actor Sam Shepard. As she told Rolling Stone, “This would be a good dedication because there was a man who loved the road and spent a good portion of his life driving different highways.”
With about 40 photos on display, Lange’s fans will appreciate her creative spirit and ability to share her point of view and expertise from behind a lens. Karen Marks, Co-Director of the Howard Greenberg Gallery said, “She is skilled, she is rooted in real photography using film and making silver prints. Her heart is in her work and also in Minnesota.”
