Catherine Opie

Catherine Opie is a photographer and artist known for her powerful and dynamic photographs that examine the ideals and norms surrounding the culturally constructed American dream and American identity. She first gained recognition in the 1990s for her series of studio portraits titled Being and Having, in which she photographed gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals drawn from her circle of friends and artists. Opie has traveled extensively across the country exploring the diversity of America's communities and landscapes, documenting quintessential American subjects— high school football, drag queens, and other marginalized groups. She has published several books of her work and has exhibited her photographs in galleries around the world. Opie is a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles and has received several awards for her work. She is known for her unique perspective on the world and her ability to capture complex emotions through her photographs.