S. A. Bachman

S.A. Bachman (b. 1957, Columbus, Ohio) is a photographer and co-founder of the artist-activist collaborative THINK AGAIN. She lives and works in Boston and Los Angeles. Bachman is a Senior Lecturer at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Photographic work [http://www.sabachman.com www.sabachman.com]
S.A. Bachman’s photo-works (1984-1996) investigate how cultural ideologies intersect with the realities of women's lives. In her photomontages, books and billboards, themes of identity coexist with images of suburbanization and social rituals to reveal sexism, racism and conformity. By manipulating popular media representations of women, her photographs turn the obviously offending, but seemingly innocent, image against itself. Significantly, while women's experience is often minimized, Bachman presents her explorations in a monumental scale. Through a confluence of image appropriation and language, she interrogates the correspondence between lived experience and represented reality.

THINK AGAIN collaboration [http://www.agitart.org www.agitart.org]
Founded with David John Attyah, THINK AGAIN (1997-present) produces public art interventions that recruit artmaking in the service of political action. THINK AGAIN expects something political from art and uses images to challenge indifference. THINK AGAIN’s public works combine cultural theory, sociological research, and activism to create a visual language for engaging civic dialogue. Their work has explored a unique range of issues, from race injustice to the structural violence against women, from queer civil rights to the military industrial complex. A project from 2006, [http://www.saltinthewound.org "The NAFTA Effect"] addresses the contradiction between "free trade zones" and restrictive migrant labor policies across the US/Mexico border.

Awards, Exhibitions, Collections

Awards: National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, LEF Foundation, GUNK Foundation, Tanne Foundation, The Funding Exchange/Outfund, New England Foundation for the Arts.

Exhibitions: Museu d´Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Institute for Contemporary Art (Boston and Philadelphia,) The Alternative Museum, Grey Art Gallery, Exit Art, Aperture Foundation, Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.

Collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Rose Art Museum, Glasgow Print Studio, Bell Telephone Corporation, Self Help Graphics.

Bibliography

A Brief History of Outrage, THINK AGAIN (David John Attyah and S.A. Bachman), Distributed Art Publishers/D.A.P., 2003 The introduction can be read at http://www.agitart.org/press/OUTRAGEbookessay.pdf

Reframings, New American Feminist Photographies, Diane Neumaier, Temple Press, 1995

Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuiston, Phaidon, London, 2004

"Social Text" (#80 Technoscience,) Amy Villarejo, [http://agitart.org/press/activist_technologies.pdf “Activist Technologies: THINK AGAIN,”] Duke University Press, Durham, North Carolina, 2004

Peace Signs: The Anti-War Movement Illustrated, James Mann, English, French, German edition; Edition Olms, and Posters Against A War, Spanish edition; Gustavo Gili, 2003/2004

Our Town, Aperture Foundation Inc., 1992

"Los Angeles Times", [http://www.saltinthewound.org/imagesman/latimes.pdf?ctrack=1&cset=true “Drive-by Campaign to Project Points of View,”] Mike Boehm, October 6, 2006

[http://www.bigredandshiny.com/cgi-bin/frameset.pl?&issue=issue07&section=article&article=NASH_SA_BACHMAN_36934 Interview with THINK AGAIN] : "Big, Red and Shiny", Issue #7, 2003